My Goldfish Thinks You're Sexy
by Sulfur Dusk
Summary: AU - In which Yuugi has an extraordinary secret ability - "Uh... hello..." Yuugi bit his lip, holding the bowl protectively against his chest. The stranger's dark eyes focused on him, eyebrow risen. "Were you just talking to your fish?" Puzzleshipping.
1. Some Complications

**Title:**_ My Goldfish Thinks You're Sexy_

**Rating: **_T- M_

**Genre: **_General/__Humor/Drama/Angst/Hurt/Comfort/Romance_

**Coupling: **_Puzzleshipping (with some Tendershipping)_

**Setting: **_Alternate Universe_

**Disclaimer: **_Disclaimed_

**Summary: **_He could never explain the phenomenon, really. It just naturally came and went, and he found that it was just as natural for him to… well, talk to animals. Who else was going to listen to him other than his goldfish? Oh, and there's the fact that his friend Anzu's gorgeous new boyfriend discovers his secret makes matters much more interesting. "Um… hello…" "Were you just talking to your fish?"_

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**This is kinda… a preview idea? Kind of a test idea, since I really love the concept. I mean, how can you go wrong with that? Talking to animals? I'm actually not that experienced with humor fiction but I'll give this a shot. Please let me know if you hate it or if it sucks or anything… I would actually love to know that. I'm not making this official until I know for sure… but it'll remain on here. It just won't be updated like the other stories.**

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**Chapter One**

_Some Complications_

* * *

Yuugi couldn't remember the first time it happened.

He did recall, however, when he was around five or six years old and his parents freaked out at him because he claimed that the puppy they just bought him started talking about bacon and how much he would love to eat human food. Yuugi believed that humans had no idea what lurked in the minds of animals, especially those that were caged in pounds. He suspected when he was younger that he just had a vivid imagination and he was much better at paying attention to certain details than most other people.

"Leather really doesn't look good when it's piled on like Swiss cheese, my friend." From inside its perfectly sheltering glass bowl, the goldfish chanted on and on about Yuugi's wardrobe until the teenage boy considered changing.

Yes, Yuugi could both _listen _and _talk _to animals.

It was an unexplained phenomenon. As a child, he struggled to explain this condition to his parents, but they were so troubled by the idea of their son being psychologically damaged that they pushed him to every doctor imaginable. Many tests and interrogations later, Yuugi was more considered with the status of his social life, rather than actually having a _disease_. He eventually dropped the idea of actually convincing his parents that his abilities were real; it was useless, and a cape of fear cloaked both his mother and father if he so much as mentioned the topic again.

At age seventeen, Yuugi was quite confident in the occurrence. It was perfectly normal for him to walk down the sidewalk, admire a couple drinking coffee, where a finely dressed woman's poodle would remark: "Oh, you bloody tosser of a woman! Release me from these confinements and do your courtship business somewhere else!"

He would always smirk at hearing the animals backtalk their owners. Of course, the humans were oblivious to this and consistently praised their pets. Dogs were, surprisingly, the most obnoxious and the most vocal. It was a rare case when the pet actually matched the owner's personality, but Yuugi had witnessed it from time to time. Cats were more passive-aggressive, but they still had that snide tone to them.

"_Yuugi_? Are you listening? You _can't _just walk out that door dressed like that! You look like a bondage slave!"

Yuugi rolled his eyes. He never liked to listen to his pet's opinions about his clothes. They were always so negative and just… unnecessary. He never understood why fishes happened to be the sassiest of animals he had listened to thus far. When he went shopping with his mother around two years ago to purchase a pet fish, he was shocked to hear the constant babbling of guppies, witness _dominance matches _between betas, and goldfishes criticizing each other's scale colors. It was like walking into Fish High School and examining the different cliques.

Goldfishes were the judgmental divas.

And the goldfish Yuugi happened to pick out was the quietest of all of them—named Jeremy. Jeremy received the name because he was a "world-class true citizen of America" and that he really had no place in somewhere like Japan, nonetheless Domino City. When Yuugi actually started to talk to his new fish, Jeremy told him stories of numerous other fish from different pet stores and how rigorous the process was to transfer from one store to the next. Apparently there was a lot of drama in a fish's aquatic life.

"I think the leather's fine," Yuugi muttered calmly, addressing the bowl with a risen eyebrow. "It's not like you're coming _with me_ anywhere."

"Ugh. Oh, is Anzu coming back today? Maybe she can agree with me about your pitiful choice of attire," Jeremy continued.

Yuugi sighed at the mentioning of his closest and possibly best friend, Anzu Mazaki. She attended high school with him and was extremely overprotective when it regarded Yuugi's lifestyle, and she had a suspicion towards his interactions with animals, but as far as Yuugi was concerned they were minor. He had never told anyone his secret (other than trying to convince his parents for years that he had the ability) and Anzu was not going to be an exception anytime soon. How could he possibly explain that to her? She was an understanding person, definitely, but even that side to her was a little strange.

Today she was planning to take him out. Where, she hadn't told him, but maybe this was the opportune time for him to actually prepare. Jeremy was right about one thing most of the time: whenever Yuugi dressed, he never really _decided _on anything, per say, he was just cautious and didn't want to offend anyone if he had the chance. Dressing in leather seemed to be the most viable option, especially if Anzu took him somewhere involving dancing or… partying.

Oh, god, he hoped not.

"_Yuugi_, you're ignoring me again! What gives?"

"Jeremy, I'm just thinking. Sheesh." Yuugi grumbled. "Who knew fish could talk so much…"

"Hey, I heard that!"

"You were supposed to."

"You can't leave me with your grandpa! What if he cleans my bowl again? I won't survive after that stupid cleansing stuff! And he always scrapes the algae off my castle!" Jeremy then began to swim around the pillars of his purple and blue castle—it was actually his anniversary present from Yuugi, to celebrate two years of being under his roof. It was surprising that Jeremy liked the castle so much, since he was such a prissy asshole sometimes.

Yuugi did like him though. Jeremy was good company, and surprisingly, a decent go-to for therapy.

"It'll only be for a few hours, Jeremy. I'm just meeting Anzu and Jou—"

"Oh, so _Katsuya's _in on this too! I see how it is. Leave Jeremy out to dry. _Literally_."

Yuugi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can't you just relax?"

"I would relax if I had some _company_." The shamelessly suggestive undertone made Yuugi's cheeks redden in surprise and annoyance.

"For the last time, I am _not _getting you a female goldfish. I would never be able to sleep. Ever again."

Jeremy stared at him, and if he were human Yuugi would know that the poor animal was pouting. "Aw, but why? I want to love too!"

"Someday, but not now."

"Dick."

Yuugi glanced at his fish, and then grabbed a towel to cover the bowl. He grinned in admittedly sweet satisfaction as the fish panicked in the darkness, but then relaxed once he realized that the covering was just for show. Jeremy normally despised the towel, since he was denied the opportunity to see anything of the outside world. Living in a fishbowl barely gave Jeremy any adventure, and sitting in his fake castle could get rather boring at times. So to have the towel punishment was like drowning in the air and getting slapped silly by human hands.

Really, his owner was cruel at times.

Yuugi smiled and waved after the bowl, creaking the door open to be sure that his grandfather wasn't outside his room while he was talking to Jeremy. "Alright, I'm heading out now. Don't do anything stupid."

"Fuck you," Jeremy replied curtly.

Yuugi shrugged and left without another word.

* * *

"Yuugi, isn't he just marvelous?"

Yuugi stared with incredibly wide eyes at Ryou Sakurada's new pet snake. The serpent slithered in the small glass box set in front of him, forked tongue sticking out and harsh words leaving its tight mouth. Of course, the creature was positive that no one would understand its manner of speech, but Yuugi was so distracted by the foul mouth the serpent happened to have, and he couldn't even look into Ryou's eyes or take anything seriously for a solid ten minutes.

He met up with Anzu and Jounouchi Katsuya at the ice cream parlor in order to plan out the remainder of their Saturday. It was a generally nice and comfortable place, with a large assortment of flavors to choose from, a tender breeze drifting through the open windows, and the rays of vibrant colors from the ceiling and floor would make anyone's eyes pop in impressment. The music that filtered through the area was usually a combination of rock and pop, but today a smooth, classical melody flowed through, which was exactly what Yuugi preferred.

His entire group of friends, Ryou included, had graduated from Domino High School and were still debating on which colleges to attend. Ryou's heart was set towards art school, most likely the highly prestigious glass-walled private college set in Downtown Domino. Jounouchi was just as indecisive as ever, but he was most likely planning to leave Japan if he could choose; Yuugi had never really asked him.

Anzu arrived at the smooth table with two ice cream scones, topped with vanilla and strawberry flavors. Both scoops were complimented with colorful arrays of sprinkles. Yuugi smiled and muttered his thanks once his friend handed him the frozen treat. He was about to take a rather large bite when he noticed the sharp, inquisitive stare that Ryou's new pet snake was casting towards him. Those dark black eyes were a little unnerving.

"God, what the fuck is wrong with humans? Let me out, won't you? I refuse to be boxed up like this and treated like some cretin!" The snake coiled into a ball, and Yuugi was glad to see that the serpent would be occupied for at least the next few minutes. Swallowing to get rid of the image of the snake talking to no one in particular, Yuugi turned his attention to Jounouchi, who was busy with his mountain of brownies and caramel syrup.

"So, Jou, what are your plans for college?"

The blonde blinked, frowning at the sudden question. "Aw, Yuug'! Right when I was gonna dive into this beautiful masterpiece…" he sighed in feigned annoyance, but grinned crookedly at his friend. "Maybe culinary school."

Anzu's eyes sparkled in impressment. "Jou! I had no idea you were interested in becoming a cook."

"Why not?" Jounouchi shrugged, chuckling as he took a huge scoop of his ice cream brownie sundae and slurped on the spoon. "I mean, I love food, right? It only makes sense. I might actually be good at it." He pondered this for a few seconds, and smirked in conclusion. "My cousins from used to come over for Thanksgiving dinners from America, and they said that my 'experimental' cooking was fantastic. Maybe it's a sign, right?"

Ryou considered this, a thoughtful look plastered across his slightly effeminate features. "Possibly. I think all of us can say that we're interested what you're going to take from this experience, Jou."

Jounouchi's brow furrowed. "I think that maybe my sister won't like the idea… but oh well. If I can get in to a culinary school in America, then I can definitely start there. No reason I can't." He then proceeded to devour his sundae in a wave of newfound determination. Yuugi laughed at his friend's actions—it was easy to see the blonde being the regular comedian, even when he didn't try to be.

Anzu propped her elbows up on the table, a thoughtful look dwelling in her dazzling blue eyes. Yuugi watched her softly—it was true that his friend was normally considered to be one of the most beautiful people from their high school. She obtained the reputation even when she befriended Yuugi, which was practically the ultimate risk of losing points in the popularity department. But she never cared about the public's opinion of her, and that made Yuugi respect her all the more.

When he first met her, he assumed he had a small crush on her. People—and, of course, their pets—would comment on him as he walked beside her after school. She always offered to walk him home afterwards, if just from the kindness of her heart, but he had continuously expected that it was something more from time to time. However, his thoughts never reached past that incredibly simple infatuation with her, and he came to terms with the fact that they were just friends.

But gazing into her eyes now, he knew there was something on her mind, and it had nothing to do with a topic about college.

"What about you Anzu?" Ryou asked, his brown eyes kind and inviting. "What are you aiming to do since high school is over?"

Anzu smiled, her lips pursing together. She giggled slightly, glancing between all three of her friends before breaking into a huge, goofy grin. "I'm focused on trying to make my dreams of becoming a dancer a reality… but in the meantime, I've met someone."

Yuugi blinked.

Anzu was _in a relationship with someone_?

She never mentioned this before. Normally she would have trusted him first, to tell him her deepest secrets if necessary. They were still incredibly close, so what had changed for her to hold off from telling him something so important? Or, maybe, it wasn't that important and he was just being paranoid. But what if this new _someone _was a crazed stalker? What if he was trying to take advantage of Anzu in some way, shape or form—

"Yuugi?" Anzu whispered, snapping him out of his stream of conscience. "Are you okay? I thought you would be excited for me."

Yuugi blanched and quickly found his words. "I—no, Anzu, it's not like that, I swear. I was just surprised. I mean, you never mentioned anything like this before." It was the truth; at least, most of it.

"Nice save, kid," Ryou's snake commented sarcastically.

Yuugi sent a swift glare towards the reptile before turning back to Anzu. "I promise, it's nothing like you think."

She eyed him warily, her eyes narrowed in suspicion as if she noticed the look he sent to Ryou's new pet, but that look quickly faded before it officially registered. "I know, Yuugi. I shouldn't have doubted you."

She smiled, addressing everyone else with pure light clouding her features. She looked so _happy_, like she was in love or something. But no one could develop those emotions in such a short amount of time; it was impossible.

Yuugi frowned.

Right?

"Eh, so… who is this guy, then?" Jounouchi asked, even though he was clearly not paying attention. His eyes and drool were too focused on his constantly refilling sundae to acknowledge anything in the real world right now.

Anzu sighed dreamily. "Well, he just graduated from high school, and I met him at a pizza restaurant on the other side of town. He was with some freaky-looking friends, but he asked me to dance with him and I gladly accepted! From then on, we've been seeing each other. I think it's getting really serious." She dipped her head, pondering over this in bewilderment. "What if he is really in love with me?"

Now she was just thinking aloud.

"Yeah, fat chance, princess," the snake hissed. Yuugi was tempted to just grab the box and chuck it out the window if the sassy reptile distracted him again, and he hated it because he knew the snake could see his definitive attention. It knew he could understand it—and that was just obnoxious.

"That's great, Anzu," Yuugi stated, grinning widely. He really _was_ happy for her; he was just surprised that she hadn't said anything up until this point. "What's his name?"

"Oh, you'll see. Yuugi, I'm going to bring him over to your house to show him your collection of _Duel Monsters _cards. He says it's his favorite game." She grinned even wider at the thought of her apparent love interest. "Oh, Yuugi, he's just marvelous. His hair… honestly he looks kinda like you, but a lot more…" she stopped herself, biting her lip and hoping she hadn't said too much. "Yeah, well, he _kind of_ looks like you. Just… older," she finished, a blush creeping up onto her cheeks.

Yuugi frowned at the strange implications in her words, but he chose to drop the subject before misfire messages were thrown all over the place. Subconsciously, he wondered if Jeremy was planning to get revenge on him anytime soon. Of course, he was a _goldfish_; he wouldn't be able to do anything to him, other than threaten him. Maybe setting the towel over his bowl was too harsh of a punishment…

"He's positively _dreamy_ though, and I think you guys are going to like him." Anzu finished her rant with a heavy sigh, laced with feathers and candy or anything else sweet that would have described her finishing words. Yuugi and Ryou could both tell that she had a great deal of adoration for this man, but the concern was still evident.

Ryou smiled, and used this opportunity to change the subject. He placed his hand over the glass lid of the box; his snake hissed in response, and Yuugi was, once again, taken aback at the serpent's repulsive language. "So, what do you guys think I should name my new pet snake?"

Anzu blinked at the subtle topic, but nodded. "Ah. Well, I really have no idea." She was practically twitching. Yuugi could tell that she still wanted to talk about her new boyfriend, if she wanted to call him that, but Ryou's attention span was like a goldfish's.

And Yuugi could know. Jeremy probably had short-term memory loss; it really was astounding.

"How about…" Ryou pondered. "Leighton!"

Yuugi blinked. "Leighton?"

"Of course! In Britain, Leighton is a very common name. It would be nice to have a British-origin name, especially with my pet."

Yuugi smiled. He always forgot that Ryou's parents actually descended from Britain—Ryou transferred into Domino High School from that exact location during their freshman year. Since he had been with them for so long, it was difficult to see Ryou donning any clothes or speaking in his British accent anymore. But when he first appeared, the accent was so heavy that it was hard to actually listen to him for a solid year or two. Now his voice seemed entirely different—or maybe it was just because, at this point, Yuugi was used to it.

Jounouchi shoveled one final scoop of ice cream into his mouth. He looked so bloated. "That's a funky name, Ryou," he acknowledged, raising an eyebrow.

Ryou frowned. "I like it. And he's my snake."

Jounouchi glared at the snake, pretending to hiss. "I hate snakes. It's a good thing you have it in that box." Jounouchi apparently had a very avid fear of reptiles, and that was proven during their sophomore year of high school when he unleashed one of their teacher's class pets into the room as a harmless prank. However, the snake ended up following Jounouchi the remainder of the period and acted in a much more threatening manner than expected. Animal security arrived and was forced to execute the serpent before it could harm another student.

Yuugi sighed in remembrance. That particular snake's speech pattern was a little fuzzy in his memory, but if he recalled correctly, the reptile was chasing Jounouchi specifically because he thought the blonde heap of hair on top of his head was just another rodent.

He smirked; if he started laughing out loud the others would ask him why and he would have to explain himself. Telling them of his ability would be completely against his normal motivation; if they knew of his secret, he suspected that they would probably shun him.

His eyes darkened.

Just like his parents had for the first few years.

Anzu nudged him, and he shook his head to be rid of his thoughts. He needed to focus, and try not to pay attention to the constantly rambling snake that was now protesting to Ryou's British name for him.

"So, Yuugi, I was wondering, if you were free in your schedule tomorrow night, I could introduce my new boyfriend to you then? I think he's free as well and it would be just perfect, since, you know, I have to work the rest of the week and I won't have time."

Yuugi blinked. "Uh…" He frowned. He would never deny Anzu anything, and he was still suspicious of this unidentified person that somehow stole her heart faster than he could snap his fingers. He would have to remind Jeremy to shut up if Anzu visited (even though that was _impossible_) and he would probably have to cook. And he really couldn't cook.

Still…

"I guess it's okay," Yuugi whispered, smiling. Anzu squealed and embraced him tightly against her, clearly grateful.

"Thank you so much Yuugi! You won't regret this, I promise!"

Yuugi rubbed his neck. He hoped he wouldn't.

* * *

When Yuugi returned to his room he found his grandfather, Sugoroku Mutou, searching through the refrigerator. The teenager blinked at the odd sight and closed the door lightly behind him, setting the car keys on the sofa cushions stored off to the side.

This establishment, once known as the Kame Game Shop, was bought by another company more than three years ago, when he was still in high school and working part-time with his grandfather, and ever since the store was purchased they had a slightly better life financially speaking, but a small piece of his grandfather went away with the store, and he could never wipe away that part of his memory.

Even so, seeing his grandpa like this was kind of unnerving.

"… Grandpa?" Yuugi started, tilting his head to the side.

Sugoroku jumped and slammed the door shut, turning to Yuugi. "Oh! Yuugi, you're home! A lot sooner than I expected." He chuckled in amusement. "I thought you were going to stay out and eat dinner with your friends."

"I was, but I decided to turn in early."

He started pacing up the stairs, saving one last glance at his grandfather. "What were you doing just now, Grandpa?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. I will tell you eventually, just not now."

Yuugi raised an eyebrow, but he chose to drop the subject. He continued up the staircase, the voices of his friends echoing in the back of his mind. It was strange, eating with them at the ice cream parlor, and to have Ryou's snake make those snide, sometimes-plain filthy comments was just distracting and made him bottle up fury. He hated it when there were blabbermouth animals around; whether it was the arcade, a fast food restaurant, or even the park, it was just unbearable.

Once he cracked open the door to his room, he slipped off his shoes and jumped onto his bed. He stretched out his toes, smiling at the tender feeling spreading through his feet. It was nice to just lie down and breathe every once in a while, especially when so many things were racing through his head at once.

His thinking process immediately flashed back to Anzu.

"_Hello_? I'm still in the dark here, Yuugi!" Jeremy protested, and Yuugi blinked in realization. He quickly got up and removed the towel from the fishbowl, smirking at the silly sight of the fish panicking and hammering his body against the glass. "That was torture! Unexplainable, inexplicable _torture_! Why would you put me through that? You are just plain _evil _sometimes, and don't even try to use those puppy dog eyes on me anymore! It. Won't. Work."

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. "You know I can easily put the towel back on—"

"No! _No_. No. Anything but that." Jeremy wasn't even going to beg at this point. It was almost as if he rehearsed this during the hours Yuugi was gone.

He instantly frowned. Right, Anzu and her boyfriend. Visiting. Tomorrow night.

"Jeremy, I need to talk to you about something. And it's important." He waited until the fish stopped swimming around like a lunatic and actually fixated his attention on his owner. "Anzu's coming over tomorrow. And… she's going to have company. So, literally you can't say a word. I'll leave the door locked or whatever, but you can't talk while I'm here because I'll get distracted and things will go haywire."

The aquatic animal seemed to ponder this for a second, before releasing a thoughtful flutter of his fins. "What do I get from this?"

Yuugi glared. Damn fish. "I can leave my computer on. You can watch TV shows on it, I guess. But I'll have to put the show on a loop if that's all you want to do." He allowed Jeremy to watch shows when he was gone, since the fish just adored television. Yuugi didn't own a television set of his own, but he used his computer to browse different websites and enjoy streamed shows. His goldfish, of course, loved this brand of technology and had many favorites.

Jeremy swam in an excited circle. "Okay, but only if you let me watch _Death Note_." Oh, god. That anime was his obsession, and he would not stop asking Yuugi for details regarding the show or the plot or the characters or anything that had to do with it.

Jeremy loved cartoons, and that was Yuugi's main issue.

"… Fine. But if you start quoting Light while I sleep—"

"Scale's honor, I won't!" Jeremy swore, and judging by the rare seriousness in his voice, Yuugi believed him. It was the least he could do if he wanted the damn animal to shut up for one whole night. "But I've already stockpiled the first season into my ol' memory banks, so you have to find a season I haven't watched yet. I don't really care about the order."

Yuugi rolled his eyes, and blinked as his phone buzzed on his nightstand. He picked up the device and flipped it open, raising an eyebrow at the rather rushed text sent from his friend, Anzu.

**From: Anzu Mazaki - **_Hey, is everything OK for tmrw?_

He hesitated, wondering what he was going to text back. Hopefully she wasn't expecting anything too fancy from his household. He still wondered if this man was going to be an issue with their rather close friendship, and there were still concerns relating to his _birth defect _and how he was going to cope with it. Hopefully Anzu's love interest didn't have a pet of any kind.

His fingers glided over the touchscreen.

**To: Anzu Mazaki - **_Yeah. Everything's fine._

He decided he wasn't going to wait for a response. Jeremy seemed to take notice of the apprehensive look gracing the human's features, so he decided to break the coincidentally awkward silence.

"What's up, Mutou-boy? Who's texting?"

Yuugi sighed, ignoring the annoying nickname and running his fingers through his hair. He was just... well, he was slightly bewildered. "It's just Anzu. I already told you that I have to host this… meeting, I guess. She wants me to meet her boyfriend really badly for some reason."

Jeremy seemed lost in thought—and that was an odd expression to read on a goldfish. "Maybe she's trying to make ya jealous?" He seemed amused at the idea. "Oh, that's rich! You could actually get laid outta this!"

Yuugi flushed and raised the towel on the nightstand in a threatening manner.

"Shutting up now."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Yuugi smiled playfully. He stood up and walked over to his closet, pulling out one of his numerous pairs of pajamas; the color periwinkle and covered in intricate patterns of lions and dragons. It was a rather old pair of garments that his grandfather bought him during his sophomore year, but he stopped growing when he was a freshman and still had articles of clothing from five years ago.

He couldn't stop thinking about Anzu and her… _date_. The word sounded so strange; it drifted through his subconscious like a lost parasite.

He would have to be sure that this whole event, that this _date_, was absolutely perfect, for Anzu's sake.


	2. Awkward

**Title:**_ My Goldfish Thinks You're Sexy_

**Rating: **_T - M_

**Genre: **_General/__Humor/Drama/Angst/Hurt/Comfort/Romance_

**Coupling: **_Puzzleshipping (with some Tendershipping)_

**Setting: **_Alternate Universe_

**Disclaimer: **_Disclaimed_

**Summary: **_He could never explain the phenomenon, really. It just naturally came and went, and he found that it was just as natural for him to… well, talk to animals. Who else was going to listen to him other than his goldfish? Oh, and there's the fact that his friend Anzu's gorgeous new boyfriend discovers his secret makes matters much more interesting. "Um… hello…" "Were you just talking to your fish?"_

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**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the first chapter to this story! I really appreciate it and I hope you enjoy the next one! I'll reply to your reviews as fast as possible, and I'm trying to rotate with my story updates before I have to get back on the college horse. Fun, right? Yeah, not so much. Still, please enjoy!**

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**Chapter Two**

_Awkward_

* * *

Yuugi had a hectic morning.

It started with his alarm blaring in his ear forty minutes after it was supposed to, and he struggled to pull himself out of bed. Jeremy—goddamn fish—wouldn't stop pestering him about cleaning his bowl and fixing the arrangement of his plastic castle. When he checked his phone he found that he received over twenty unread messages from Anzu, and he was unable to even glance over them as he was already behind on his chores he needed to complete for his grandfather. Since he still lived in the Mutou residence, he was required to fulfill his job as the younger man and taking care of the place instead of Sugoroku. It was only fair, since the old man let him stay before he was going to cart himself off to college.

He washed the dishes, folded the laundry, scrubbed the tiles, wiped the blinds, and even polished the refrigerator door to remove old scrounge markings since it was once stored in the game shop a while back. By the time he removed the rubber gloves from his hands he felt that familiar sticky discomfort spreading over his fingers, and he realized that he had to make sure everything was perfect. Anzu was supposed to bring over her date for tonight, and he still didn't know what type of food she preferred, or what decorations she wanted, or how she wanted the furniture to look like when she walked through the door…

His tongue swept over his lips in bewilderment, scanning his emails on his portable computer. Currently, he was sitting in the coffee shop just down the street from his grandfather's former game shop. When the shop was still in business, it was easy to have a lunch break with Sugoroku in this café; the sandwiches weren't half-bad either.

Yuugi propped his elbows on the table. He glanced over the images he uploaded to the screen, reading several extravagant recipes on different websites that he happened to come across. Anzu wouldn't answer any of her text messages, and he was wondering if everything was alright, or if she was angry with him since he slept in and wasn't able to respond to her hectic words. It was like standing in front of her, listening to her rant about what she wanted for this "meeting".

Yuugi pressed his fingers to his temples and rubbed them, suddenly distracted by the chatter of two fluffy poodles with their leashes tied to a table several feet away from him.

"Do you think she'll notice if we just take one bite?" the black poodle asked, eyeing the raspberry croissant sitting untouched, baked fresh and wafting in the cool air on top of the table. Yuugi watched with a slight smirk; it was interesting listening to dogs converse in the mornings, especially around cafés, bistros or even ordinary restaurants. They seemed to put aside their differences to work together in order to find food.

The other poodle tilted its head to the side, tongue lolling out of his jaws as it barked and wagged its tail. It was just as hungry as the other, if not more, saliva dripping from its mouth in anticipation. "We should try! They won't notice!"

Yuugi bit his lip and turned back to the computer. God, maybe it was just hopeless. If his problems were as easy an animal's, he would fly past this situation with nothing to lose. Leaning back in his chair, he wrapped his scarf in an extra loop around his slender neck.

For eating outside, he dressed in clothes that were unusual for Domino City. He happened to get cold very easily because of his small stature and he liked dressing warmly most of the time. He sported an old pair of washed out jeans, old sneakers that he fished out from the back of his closet, a double-breasted coat with warm mittens and a worn red scarf. He considered wearing a hat but he knew it wouldn't be _too _cold when he walked outside.

His cell phone buzzed. Holding back a grimace, he checked the device.

**From: Anzu Mazaki – **_YUUGI MUTOU. I haven't heard a single word from you all morning! Is everything okay? I really hope so. I mean, I want this to be perfect but at the same time I don't want to stress you out. Please text me back soon._

Yuugi swallowed his guilt. As much as he adored his friend he knew that, at times, she was incredibly high-maintenance. This whole event with her apparent "boyfriend" was last minute and took Yuugi by surprise. He needed to find out what her boyfriend liked to eat, or what type of furniture he enjoyed, or how he was supposed to set up the new living room in his house… it was so stressful, and he was so used to being prepared that it shook him.

Deciding to try and take his mind off of it for a couple seconds, Yuugi glanced up and scanned the interior of the coffee shop, smiling as the lyrics of smooth classical music flooded the café in charming waves. The people who came in the early morning were much more tolerable than the ones, say, at night, where cigarettes and heavy smokers could not be missed around each corner.

He always liked the look of the place too. A cozy atmosphere, with dark wooden floors, cobblestone walls that stuck out like glued beads, with the heavy scent of grinding coffee beans constantly wafting through the room in a gentle current. It was very relaxing, and at times Yuugi would just bring a book and a pair of earphones, buy himself a cup of iced tea and enjoy his surroundings. He'd had his fair share of encounters with the weirder customers, but at least those events were minor. Jeremy would sometimes remind him to go earlier rather than later, since Yuugi would either come home satisfied from visiting the café or traumatized.

The bell chimed, signifying that a new customer had walked in. Instinctively, Yuugi glanced up, and his breath stopped mid-gasp. The straw he was chewing on fell from his parted lips, and he blinked repeatedly to adjust and make sure that he wasn't seeing things.

The man that just walked through the doors was something else. He was tall and slender, his legs stretching for what seemed like miles long and his arms were lean, poised and lightly toned in muscle, resting on his slender leather-clad hips with ease. His black shirt clung to just the right pectorals, showing tiny glimpses of how chiseled this young individual was. His clothing seemed to be designed to cling to his body like a second skin, and Yuugi was definitely not complaining. The chain buckled belt that hung loosely on the man's hips was a nice touch, and it matched the multiple bracelets adorning his arms and the unique choker clamped around his neck.

His face looked like a professional artist sculpted it. It struck in powerful angles, with high cheekbones, a firm, pointed nose and full lips that were set in a firm line. His skin was fair and smooth in appearance, as if it could rival the texture of marble. Dark lavender eyes were set in his perfect face, and his hair was styled in numerous spikes jolting up like flamboyant firecrackers. Blonde bangs resembled lightning bolts that struck up with the rest of his hairdo, while some fell limply over his brow.

Yuugi subconsciously licked his lips. His fingers twitched and he felt his knee bump the table. He cursed and blushed instantly as the line of new customers turned to look at the sound, and he quickly ducked his head to hide his embarrassment. He breathed shakily and quietly, still in disbelief at what he just saw.

Just who was that man? He walked in and immediately made the coffee shop look like a background for a model or something. He'd never seen anyone that looked like that before—sure, he'd had dates with attractive men in the past, but none of them carried themselves like _that _piece of… mm, Yuugi really didn't know how to describe him.

He hoped he wouldn't start drooling anytime soon.

His cell phone buzzed again and he looked at the machine with a risen eyebrow. Great, just what he needed to snap him out of his wonderful daydream.

**From: Anzu Mazaki – **_Yuugi?_

_Shit. _He quickly flipped open his phone and started texting back.

**To: Anzu Mazaki – **_Sorry, Anzu, I was distracted. Don't worry, everything's covered. I promise. :)_

He was such a liar.

A _terrible _liar.

Hopefully, just this once, she would believe him and drop the subject until she showed up at his house. Maybe her boyfriend was less stressful than she was—that would be a nice change. The boys she'd dated before usually weren't the greatest people, but she had never been this excited about anyone before, and Yuugi guessed that it could be a good sign.

"Is this seat taken?"

Yuugi was struck by the tone: slick and baritone, commanding his attention in one fell swoop. Mentally slapping himself, he turned to look at the handsome stranger he saw walk through the door like a devil sauntering into heaven's playground, and he was holding two drinks.

Why the hell was a guy that looked like this talking to _him_?

"Um…" Yuugi stared at the chair across from him, and nodded. "No. Go ahead." He suppressed a nervous smile as the attractive man took a seat in front of him, practically oozing confidence and poise as he did so. Yuugi couldn't believe this man—possibly the most beautiful individual Yuugi had seen in a _long _time—sat down without another word.

The stranger smirked, cracking the perfect image, but only slightly. "Nice computer."

Yuugi bit his lip. "Thanks." He started typing in the search bar, hoping to find results for a different recipe… maybe something other than cooked fish. He wouldn't want Jeremy to throw a hissy fit while he was setting up the tables and searing meat.

"So, do you come here often?" Okay, so it was clear that the stranger wanted to make small talk. As gorgeous as he was, Yuugi needed to focus on these plans for Anzu. The selfish part of him wanted to respond as courteously as he could and continue ordering drinks just so he could listen to the man's interesting voice, but the other part of him was dedicated to his plans and his tight schedule.

He chose the latter.

He tentatively closed the lid of his laptop and quirked an eyebrow. "I'm really sorry, but I'm kind of busy right now, if you couldn't tell." Yuugi sighed, rubbing one of his eyes. "And I'm tired. So I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear." He considered getting up and leaving, but the stranger didn't look offended at all, which slightly surprised him. No, he looked… amused.

The stranger shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his coffee. "Well, that was the quickest rejection I've ever heard."

That chuckle sent ghostly shivers down Yuugi's spine, and the fingers gripping his laptop case slightly slipped. He gulped and shook his head; now was not the time to get distracted by beautiful people! Even Jeremy wouldn't stoop this low if he… well, if he wasn't a goldfish.

"I... wait, what? A rejection?" Yuugi blinked owlishly.

"Come on, relax," the stranger quipped, patting the spot across from him where Yuugi's laptop had once been. "I didn't even get your name. And you didn't get mine." He pressed his hand to his chest (which Yuugi tried not to look at since he knew that this man's stomach was lined with toned muscles that were just plainly sinful) and smirked. "My name is Yami. Yours?"

Yuugi hesitated, but he wasn't going to be too rude. Maybe these plans could be held off or a couple more hours. There wasn't any harm in it, right?

"Yuugi," he answered, gradually slinking back down to his seat. He locked eyes with the man, and suddenly he found that it was actually quite easy to talk to someone with eyes like that; they seemed comfortable and confident, like he really didn't have a care in the world.

"Nice name," Yami replied. He raised an eyebrow. "I swear I've never seen you before. Not around here, especially." Yuugi shrugged. "So where are you from?"

"… Here," Yuugi replied. "My grandfather owned a game shop down the street, but we sold it a couple of years ago to secure some debts. I've lived here in Domino City all my life."

"Interesting." Yami loped one leg over the other, taking something out of his pocket. Yuugi noticed that it was an expensive-looking, shiny black phone. Okay, so this guy probably had a lot of money in his nifty leather pockets. "Sorry, just texting a friend."

"Don't worry about it, I was just a few seconds ago." Yuugi sighed, resisting the urge to bury his face into his hands. "I'm supposed to set up this… party, thing, for my friend tonight. I just don't know how I'm going to set it up with the time that I have." He chuckled, raking his fingers through his hair.

Yami seemed to ponder this. "What type of party is this?"

"Just… a meeting, I guess, with her new boyfriend. She's suddenly really determined to get me to meet him and to get acquainted with him. I think it's because the other people in our group of friends just aren't that accepting." Yuugi thought about this, and the more he realized what he was saying, the more he noticed just how strange this was. Anzu could have done this arrangement with any other person.

Jeremy's words echoed in his head… Anzu wasn't trying to make him jealous, was she?

"Sounds kinda weird, if you ask me," Yami replied coolly. "I don't understand girls sometimes…" he drifted off, and his eyes darkened, as if stricken with a memory or some realization, but it faded as soon as it appeared. Yami turned back to Yuugi. "So what brings you here this early, kid?"

Yuugi blinked at the word choice and glared. "I just graduated from high school and I'm heading off to college in the fall. I would hardly consider myself a _kid_," he retorted sharply.

Yami blinked, and then smirked. "Ah, I see, _high_ and _mighty_ graduate. I can see that you're totally special compared to everyone else."

"You know that that's not what I meant." Yuugi's lips curled into a pout, and he quickly took notice of the way Yami's eyes flickered briefly to his mouth and then back to his eyes. He wouldn't have caught that if Jeremy hadn't brought his attention to those types of things. For being a fish, he was surprisingly perceptive, and would judge Yuugi's dates constantly; not like Yuugi went out often (in fact, he rarely did) but it was nice to pick up the small hints.

And something about the way Yami looked at him simultaneously thrilled his senses and drilled warning signals into his brain. He couldn't remember the last time someone looked at him like this.

Yami opened his mouth to say something, but his cell phone buzzed. He rolled his eyes and picked up the device. "Sorry," he muttered quickly.

Yuugi shrugged. "It's alright. I think I have to go now anyways." He stood up and gathered his computer bag and his iced tea. "It was nice talking to you." He smiled at Yami and was about to walk out the door, but stopped once the other quickly snatched his arm without looking up from his phone. Yami then glanced over at him, flashing a coy smile and tugging Yuugi downward, causing their faces to be inches from each other.

Yuugi's pupils dilated and his cheeks flushed crimson.

"Meet me here again. Tomorrow morning at seven. Can you do that?" Yami asked, the charm clearly evident in his voice. As if entranced in a spell, Yuugi was compelled to dip his head, but he found that his eyes had already drifted towards the glowing blue screen that Yami was activating… the name of a stranger, and Yuugi's mind suddenly clicked.

What was he doing? What if this man was just a sleazebag who used people's wills against them? What if he was texting his partner right now? His brow furrowing and his glare hardening, Yuugi ripped his arm away and sighed, ignoring the surprise dwelling in the other man's orbs.

"Listen, this isn't how I communicate with people, especially practical strangers. I'm afraid that I'm not going to just trust you on a whim and show up on a _date _since we barely know each other." Yuugi turned towards the door, keeping his attention focused on Anzu. He needed to think about her right now, not anyone else. He sighed and glanced back, surveying the rather perplexed expression gracing Yami's features. "Maybe some other time."

_Maybe_.

And with that, he walked through the doors, disappearing around the corner and leaving one of the most gorgeous men he had ever met behind to drink by his lonesome.

* * *

"What? He was hot? Fuck Yuugi! Why didn't you stay and beg him to smack you against a wall and screw you senseless?" Jeremy snapped, swimming around his recently scrubbed castle like a man high on a dosage of cocaine. "Isn't that how the human world works with courtship? You just wanna bang each other at first sight!"

Yuugi groaned in exasperation, flipping through a box of cookbooks that his grandfather let him borrow as soon as he returned home. Due to certain… distractions, in his morning Internet searches, he decided to find simpler recipes in his late grandmother's old books. He remembered eating great food with her as a child, and since he was quite a good cook himself, he knew he could conjure up some old favorites if he read the proper text.

"It just wasn't for me. Really, I don't know why I keep telling you about my mornings at the café."

"Because you secretly care about my sense of boredom in your house and the fact that I don't have legs." Jeremy stopped. "What'd he look like?"

"I'm not talking about this with you anymore," Yuugi grumbled, and smiled brightly as his finger swept over the picture of some Mexican-style foods. He knew that Anzu liked foreign cuisine… maybe he could whip this up—

"Did some animals talk about him?"

Yuugi groaned. "There were two dogs there. That's it. Part of why I visit that café every morning is to escape from the constant chatter. Everywhere I go, there are dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, and birds. For some reason, though, my own _pet fish _annoys me more than all of those things."

"Ah, shit. Even more than cats?"

"Yes, Jeremy. Even cats."

"Balls," the goldfish quipped. "Well… I'm trying to make your life a little saucier. Come on, why can't you just go out every once in a while? Maybe the hot guy was actually nice." He paused once Yuugi refused to even look in his direction anymore. Ugh, his owner could be so stubborn at times. "I mean, I get why you want this whole thing to be perfect for your pretty friend, but I don't get it. Why does she want you to meet her boyfriend so badly?"

Yuugi glossed over the instructions and closed his eyes. Jeremy did have a point, but he had already thought about that, and it was _during _his conversation with Yami. "I'm sure she has her reasons. You have to remember that the rest of my friends aren't exactly… accepting."

"And you're any different?"

Yuugi stared at him. "What do you mean?"

If Jeremy were human, Yuugi would see him shrugging. "You're just as accepting as they are. You're extremely overprotective of Anzu and the others, and I know for a fact that she shouldn't be picking you out your group of pals because of _those _reasons."

Yuugi frowned. "Well, then… I really have no idea why she picked me to do this." He slammed the cookbook shut and shook his head to clear his headache. "The point is, I have things to do, and only a few hours left to do it."

And so, several hours passed and Yuugi Mutou did whatever he could to keep himself busy. He cleaned much more than he had before. He wiped down the mahogany tables in the dining room and setting out clean silverware for Anzu and her date if necessary; he dusted the ceiling fans (all four of them) and even went through _another _load of dishes. He made sure that his grandfather was still napping once he did this, since Sugoroku hated correcting Yuugi's placement of the bowls and plates in the pantries.

It was almost seven o'clock, and to Yuugi's surprise Anzu hadn't texted him once. From what he could tell, he did a swell job; everywhere he looked, there was a certain sparkle to something like he drowned the item in bleach. He wasn't going to start cooking until Anzu arrived, just to double-check with her and make sure that the food choice was correct.

"Oi, Yuugi, what's the occasion?" Sugoroku questioned, just now trotting now the stairs while holding a huge stack of boxes. Yuugi frowned as he walked over to his grandfather, holding his arms out. Sugoroku dropped the cardboard boxes into his arms and cracked his back. "I say, I haven't seen this place clean since… since I started the game shop!"

Yuugi grinned sheepishly. "Well, it's kind of a long story, but Anzu's coming over with her new boyfriend and she wants me to meet him. So I'm making sure everything looks good." He held back a sigh of annoyance; this meeting better be worth his effort.

Sugoroku lifted an eyebrow. "Ah, I see."

Yuugi then brightened. "Hey, Grandpa, can you watch the door while I go take a shower?" He smelled like dish soap and laundry detergent; Anzu would _kill _him if he wasn't at least hygienically prepared.

The old man grinned from ear-to-ear. "Of course! Wait, when are they going to be here?" He glanced at the clock.

"Should be about a half an hour. Don't worry, I won't be long." Yuugi marched up the stairs and walked into his room. He opened the doors to his closet and started shuffling through the drawers, grimacing as several outfit ideas popped into his head, but each one had something significantly wrong with it.

Jeremy seemed to notice his sudden movements. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to find a decent outfit. I'm taking a quick shower before they get here." Yuugi blinked, pulling out several different clothing items that varied in styles. He groaned and rubbed his temples.

"You need to relax, man."

"I am, I am." No, he wasn't. "I'll just pick something and go with it."

He quickly pulled the items out of his closet and dashed to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Jeremy blinked oddly at the gesture; just what was up with the Mutou kid today? He seemed slightly _off _since his morning escapades with the supposedly gorgeous stranger.

It was _weird_.

* * *

Yuugi lathered soap into his hands and gradually raked his fingers through his damp hair. The dramatic colors of his locks looked almost washed together in this new texture, and the comforting tremble of water bullets pounding against his back put his mind to ease. Sometimes when he showered he would bring a small stereo to place on the countertop, just to listen to the smooth choices of music that he happened to favor in these situations.

He needed to take his mind off things before focusing on them again. A small piece of him doubted that this was even going to work. If Anzu hated the setup, she would drive off with her boyfriend and possibly embarrass Yuugi even without trying. It was one of those situational dilemmas to their friendship: her constant babbling and high expectations, and his tight schedule that forbade him to complete them.

Steam spiraled around him in gentle clouds. Tilting his head up, he let the water cascade over his smooth, pale features. Memories flickered in the back of his mind, attempting to grab his attention, but he only pushed those images back to save them for another time.

When he was a child, he would draw images on the glass with his fingers. Hearts, smiley faces, flowers, puppy dogs, cats and birds…

Pictures from his childhood, conjured up from a playful, happy-go-lucky imagination that never seemed to hurt anybody. Well, no, he _didn't_ hurt anyone, but suspicious neighbors from his childhood home refused to believe that. He was too young to understand that engaging in conversation with your next-door acquaintance's (since he never really did make any friends) pet Chihuahua was a weird, weird thing.

In fact, it basically commanded for him to be shunned. Grade school was an absolute nightmare for Yuugi, and before he knew it he had his grandfather—the only person who apparently had time to care for and understand him—homeschooling him.

After his parents quit their business with his doctor meetings, he was forced to resort to other matters. Spilling out his despairs and troubles on a random rat in the trash can outside his front door was only one of the many methods he used to escape, but his parents would have sent him to an asylum if they found out their son talked to animals to tune out their ignorance.

Yuugi's eyelids tightened in slight pain from the memories. He really needed to stop backtracking like this. He felt like a crazy person, owning a sassy diva-ish goldfish with an American name, and that was practically what drove him through each and every day. If Jeremy didn't exist, Yuugi would have a hard time with everyday life. His friends couldn't help him with his issues, and at least teaching a goldfish to shut up (even one as talkative and obnoxious as Jeremy) was a lot easier than teaching a bird or dog. Cats… cats were out of the question.

Yeah, Yuugi wasn't a fan of cats.

_I'm getting way too off-topic here. _He sighed, stepping out of the shower and allowing the gentle fans in the bathroom to sweep over his skin. It took twenty minutes for him to blow-dry his hair and assort them into crazy stylized spikes. He glanced over his reflection in the mirror, observing the tentative old scars over his stomach and around his hip—

He quickly averted his eyes and slipped on a bathrobe. Those… he didn't want to remember how he got those. Some memories deserved to be hidden in dark corners and never scouted after again.

He squirted a decent amount of toothpaste on a toothbrush and started scrubbing away. Steam from his shower had already fogged up the mirror and he resisted wiping the surface with his robe sleeve just to see his reflection. The more he brushed, the more he thought about how this was going to work. If Anzu didn't enjoy the event, if she ended up getting herself embarrassed… oh dear god he really hoped that her boyfriend didn't hate him. Just the thought made his stomach flip over—would violence be a part of it as well?

He really, _really _tried hard not to think about it. It was kind of impossible though, especially when the time was so close. In about fifteen minutes they would walk through those doors and he would try his best to be a good host. Or… whatever he was.

He spat into the sink and grabbed his clothes. He needed to sort them out before he decided what to wear. "Aw, man," he groaned, rolling his eyes as he observed the huge hole in one of his jeans. "Great." He stuffed the clothes under his arm and opened the door, and not at all expecting the sight before him.

His eyes bulged out of his sockets and he dropped the clothes under his arm, a huge, beet-red blush flooding up his cheeks. Standing in front of him…

Why the _fuck_ was _Yami here_?

The bastard was just standing there, his hand outreached like he was going to use the restroom, and his eyes had widened to the size of dinner saucers. He looked slightly different than when Yuugi saw him earlier that day—he was wearing long black jeans, a button-up vest with a white long-sleeved undershirt and loafers. Cologne radiated from his body like a tropical mist, and if Yuugi wasn't so flabbergasted at the sight of this man, he would've been tongue-tied.

Scratch that. He definitely was tongue-tied, but for entirely different reasons.

"What the hell are you doing in my house? I just… what the fuck?" Yuugi almost grabbed at his hair and tugged. His grandpa was supposed to make sure that Anzu and her date arrived, not let any stranger through! Did this idiot actually follow him here? How the hell…? "How did you get my address? How did you… I don't even—"

Yami blinked owlishly and dipped his head, realization clouding those dark orbs. "I was invited." And then, his lips pulled into an amused smirk, his attention diverting to the fact that Yuugi was in nothing but a bathrobe that revealed his surprisingly creamy legs and a few inches of his smooth chest.

Yuugi blushed and snarled. "Get out of my HOUSE, you PERVERT—"

"Yami! Did you find the restroom?" That voice. Fuck no.

He couldn't believe this. Anzu—_Anzu_—strode up the stairs in a pretty turquoise dress that glistened in layers lighter blue beads. Heavy makeup adorned her eyes, her lashes dramatically much longer than they were before and her lips glossed over in an interesting sparkled shade. She walked right up to Yami and loped her arm in his.

Yuugi blanched. No… no, this couldn't be happening—

"Oh, Yuugi," Anzu squeaked, frowning apologetically. "I'm so sorry. We'll leave you alone. I know that we're a little early and you're probably still getting ready, so we'll just… go downstairs. Is that okay?" She smiled, dipping her head and tugging Yami along with her. "Sorry Yami, I should've expected Yuugi wouldn't be ready. But he's a great friend; you'll love him."

Yuugi's fingers twitched. And then his eyelids. Never… not _once_, had he been so embarrassed in his life. That Yami character—the exact same person that he couldn't stop staring at in the coffee shop earlier that morning, was Anzu's boyfriend! And he completely knew about it and had the _balls _to ask Yuugi out anyway! What the fuck?

He rushed to his room and slammed the door behind him, breathing heavily. The intense sound rattled the floor and walls, causing Jeremy's bowl to vibrate. The fish swam in nervous circles at Yuugi's presence and settled on one of the pillars of his castle.

"Whoa! What happened? You look like you were just running a marathon… oh wait, that's not sweat. It's just water." Jeremy started spewing nonsense and Yuugi really didn't have the time to listen to it.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

He pulled on the nicest clothes he could find and resisted banging his head against the wall. How could he be so _stupid_? Yami was probably playing him from the start. There was no doubt that Anzu had talked about him at least once to her new boyfriend, and it would explain the coincidence of someone as good-looking as that particular bastard walking over and bothering him.

Goddammit. This changed nearly everything. What was he supposed to do now? The last thing he wanted to do was to cater to these two people when one of them happened to be a manipulative asshole that resembled some creation that was chucked out of Valhalla.

"Hey! You haven't even set up my _Death Note _marathon. I'm gonna be so fucking bored while you're out there doing your thing!"

Yuugi glared daggers at the fish and pulled on a pair of dark jeans, frowning at how tight the clothing seemed to be, but at least he didn't look bad in them. He marched over to Jeremy and grabbed the glass bowl, holding it to his chest. He walked out the door to his room and closed it with his other hand behind him.

In a hushed voice, Yuugi pressed his face close to the bowl without the others downstairs hearing him. "I'm putting you in the garage so that they have no idea that you're here. Grandpa always leaves the TV on in there so you can watch whatever you want, I don't care. Just shut up, stay quiet and don't ruin this for Anzu." It wasn't about him anymore, it was solely his priority to make sure that Anzu had a great time, despite how much he was not going to enjoy her boyfriend's company.

"I'm not gonna ruin this for Anzu—"

"Jeremy, if you say one more _word I am going to_—"

He stopped, realizing that he somehow made his way into the living room, where several, cautious stares were cast in his direction. His grandfather wasn't present (thank whatever god existed out there) and Anzu was busy admiring the decorations Yuugi tried so hard to put up before they got there. However, the person that _did _see him ramble like a maniac to a _fish _was none other than Yami, and both his eyebrows were right under his hairline at this point.

"Uh…" Yuugi gulped. "Um, hello…" Yuugi bit his lip, holding the bowl protectively against his chest.

The former stranger's dark eyes focused on him, eyebrow risen. "Were you just talking to your fish?"

Shit. Shit. Shit. _Shit_.


	3. Fish and Chips

**Title:**_ My Goldfish Thinks You're Sexy_

**Rating: **_T - M_

**Genre: **_General/__Humor/Drama/Angst/Hurt/Comfort/Romance_

**Coupling: **_Puzzleshipping (with some Tendershipping)_

**Setting: **_Alternate Universe_

**Disclaimer: **_Disclaimed_

**Summary: **_He could never explain the phenomenon, really. It just naturally came and went, and he found that it was just as natural for him to… well, talk to animals. Who else was going to listen to him other than his goldfish? Oh, and there's the fact that his friend Anzu's gorgeous new boyfriend discovers his secret makes matters much more interesting. "Um… hello…" "Were you just talking to your fish?"_

* * *

**Thank you so much to everyone who are reading/alerting/favorite-ing/reviewing this story! I really appreciate it. Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

_Fish and Chips_

* * *

"Were you just talking to your fish?"

Yuugi swallowed, his fingers gripping tightly and uncomfortably around the glass of Jeremy's fishbowl. He felt sweat gloss over his skin, reminding him just how he could have possibly gotten into this pickle of a situation. His mouth ran dry, and he refused to look the former stranger in the eye to read his calculating, demanding expression. He grit his teeth and slowly dipped his head.

"I… yes, I was, actually." He smiled shakily. "You see, I visit a… speech therapist. And they advised me to, um, buy a goldfish to vent on! To practice on, you know?" Yuugi finished lamely, his cheeks coloring in the shade of a freshly picked strawberry.

Yami wasn't buying it, but the curiosity seemed sated for now. "Interesting." He raised an eyebrow towards the goldfish, which was staring at him in bewilderment. Yuugi could practically feel the surprise radiating from Jeremy right now; he was complaining only an hour or so before that Yuugi hadn't just "gone with the flow" and accepted Yami's proposal in the café, but now the fish was going to be goddamn set on setting them up together.

He could picture it now—

"Your speech therapist, eh?" Yami flicked his attention towards Anzu, who was observing the scene with wide, confused eyes. "Did you know about this? I mean, since you two are such close friends?"

Anzu frowned in concern and trotted over to Yami, her attention directed towards Yuugi. Those bright blue eyes were shining with the same concern only a mother should be allowed to have. "Yuugi, I had no idea you were seeing a speech therapist. Why didn't you tell me?"

Great. Now he was lying to his best friend. Peachy.

Yuugi sighed. "I'm sorry, Anzu…" he hesitated. Could he really pull off this lie? Even now? He decided that, yes, he would have to if he were going to slip out of this situation anytime soon. "I was meaning to tell you guys but I wanted to just talk to my grandpa about it for a couple weeks before the sessions were official. I guess I never came around to letting you know."

Anzu's lips thinned at this, her sparkling eyes clouding in slight disbelief, but she dismissed the emotion as soon as it appeared. She tenderly grasped Yuugi's arm and pulled him towards the center of the living room, allowing him to sit down. She stared at him with a risen eyebrow.

"You seem really tense, Yuugi. Just relax, okay?" She smiled kindly. "You did all of this for me. For Yami, too. And that's totally okay with me." She nodded reassuringly, taking in his tense left arm as he grasped Jeremy's bowl. "Do you carry that fish with you all the time when you're in the house?"

Yuugi noticed the amused twinkle in her eye and he chuckled. "Oh, well, you know how goldfish are. They're just loads of entertainment." Jeremy scoffed and he slightly shook the glass container to shut him up. He smirked mentally, and then frowned as he noticed Yami taking a seat across from them, kicking his feet up onto the newly-polished coffee table, looking quite bored with his slumped posture and slightly rumpled clothes. Anzu smiled at him and sank into the cushions beside him, her slender fingers intertwining with his as he made his hand available.

Yuugi's brow furrowed in suppressed anger and disappointment. When Anzu was busy fixating her attention on the clean atmosphere, Yuugi glared icily towards Yami and mouthed: _cheater_.

Yami raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You may find this interesting, Anzu, but I'm already acquainted with Yuugi." The brunette blinked at this and snapped her attention to him, tilting her head in surprise.

"Really?" she stared at Yuugi. "How come you didn't tell me?"

Yuugi hesitated, his cheeks flaming. "I—um—"

"He was too embarrassed to mention anything. I met him this morning at the café… I bumped into him and spilled his drink all over his clothes. That must have been why he was showering so vigorously." Each word was so smooth, so carefully practiced, like he was prepared to mention those specific, laced-together syllables as soon as he walked through the door.

Yuugi really didn't like this man.

"Oh my gosh!" Anzu giggled and clasped her hands over her mouth. "Oh wow, Yuugi, I'm so sorry that he ruined your morning." Yami glanced at her questioningly, and she nudged him with a roll of her eyes. "Yuugi takes his mornings very seriously. He loves that café."

"I apologized."

_Lying dick._ Yuugi twitched.

Jeremy scoffed. "Gee, that's _way _different from the story you told me, Yuug'. Plus this guy is _smoking_! Why didn't you tell me he was _this _hot?"

The teenager bristled and refused to answer the goldfish. Instead, he stood up, plopping Jeremy unceremoniously on the coffee table and strode to the kitchen. He ignored the curious looks plastered against his back as he opened the refrigerator and pulled some necessary ingredients out: two red and golden tomatoes, four stalks of iceberg lettuce and uncooked clumps of raw beef that he was planning to use for tacos. He whipped out a long silver knife and started slicing the fruits, trying to keep his mind occupied on Anzu and what she enjoyed on her taco.

_No onions, that's one thing I remember… _at the corner of his eye he made out certain details from the other two talking, from the curious questioning tone slipping between Yami's frustratingly perfect lips and the repeatedly confusing responses Anzu was granting him. Yuugi's fingers tightened around the hilt of the knife, a sigh escaping him as he tried to turn his attention to something else, _anything _else, which would make him less angry.

Was this Yami character a true player? Or was he just joking around with Yuugi to get a rise out of him? He probably knew who he was from the very beginning, using it as ammunition to taunt him in the future and maybe even humiliate him in front of one of his best friends. It was such a ridiculous notion but he really had no other explanation for it… either that, or Yami _was _a cheater and he was using Anzu's trustworthiness against her.

He growled and shook his head. No, there was no way. Anzu was a smart, well-rounded young woman. She would never be desperate or stupid enough to fall for the charms of someone so… _obvious_. And the fact that he flirted with Yuugi, who was a _guy_, just made the young Mutou suspect that he was a crazy person who enjoyed toying with other people. Or maybe Yuugi's paranoia was just irking him again… sometimes he really needed to listen to his grandfather about sleeping at a regular hour, but that was impossible with Jeremy around.

_Maybe I really am looking too much into this._

"Hey Yuugi! Oh, you didn't have to cook for us." Anzu came over to him, surprised. "Really, it's okay. I thought Yami and I could treat you to a restaurant just down the street."

Yuugi blinked and looked at her expectantly.

She blushed at the slight hostility in his stare and frowned. "Is something wrong, Yuugi? You've been acting kind of strange since I walked through the door." She looked even more uncomfortable once her friend's shoulders slumped and he started putting the necessary ingredients back in the refrigerator without giving her a second glance.

"No, nothing's wrong," he replied somberly. "Are you sure you don't want me to do this for you?" he stared at her, drinking in her expression, wondering if he had somehow offended her.

She frowned sadly and sighed. "You seem really uncomfortable. That's all."

"I…" he stopped himself, forcing a grin. "I'm not. I just wanted this to be perfect for your visit. So if you want to go to a restaurant, it's your call." Her face brightened at his acceptance and she pulled him into a tight hug, clearly grateful for his response.

She released him and smiled. "Thanks so much Yuugi!"

"Change of plans?" Yami called, twirling his car keys in his hand and eyeing Yuugi with interest. Anzu smiled at him and dipped her head.

"Yep! We're taking him out." She practically skipped over to where her apparent boyfriend was and took his hand. "Listen, I'll go start the car and wait for you guys. Besides, I don't think you know where the restaurant is so I'll program it into the GPS."

Yami blinked. "Can't you just give me directions on the way there?" Yuugi rolled his eyes, but Anzu chuckled at his words and shook her head.

"Just do it, 'kay?" She winked playfully and snatched his keys out of his palm, prancing out the door and shutting the entrance lightly behind her.

The atmosphere boiled down in a heavy pit of discomfort.

Yuugi stiffened and refused to look the other in the eye, but he heard the clatter of footsteps and he could feel Yami motioning over towards him. He placed the slices of tomato in a plastic Ziploc bag and shoved it into the refrigerator, his teeth grinding before lifting his gaze and meeting the calculating ruby circlets that had been eyeing him since they appeared.

"Alright, what game are you playing?" Yuugi demanded sourly.

Yami shrugged and crossed his arms. "Don't know what you mean."

"You know _exactly _what I mean!" Yuugi growled, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You're clearly dating _my friend_, Anzu! I know for a fact that you met me in the coffee shop because you knew I went there every morning. Anzu must've told you. I don't know what kind of sick game you think you're playing, but if you come onto me again I will tell Anzu and I _will _make sure that you don't get a single ounce of mercy from her!"

His speech seemed to evaporate into thin air, since Yami did not look impressed. The taller individual rolled back his shoulders and leaned against the wall, a low, baritone chuckle emitting from his throat.

"Spoiled brat," he mumbled. "And what's this about coming onto you?" He raised an eyebrow, ripples of what looked like genuine confusion spreading across red pools. "I met you in the café, that I know for sure. Did I hit on you? I can barely recall." The tone turned playful and he smirked slyly, but Yuugi felt his fists clench in annoyance.

"Whatever. You can lie all you want. Are you a player? Just tell me straight-up."

"Why? So you can make up some crazy story and tell Anzu?" Yami tilted his head to the side. "Flirting is harmless. Not like you're my type anyway, kid. Don't flatter yourself." He flicked some dust off his shirt and eyed the younger man in slight curiosity. "Like your getup, though. Nice clothes."

Yuugi flushed and growled. "I can see through your ruse. You're nothing but a player who wastes everyone's time and energy. Anzu really likes you, you know that?" A flash of confusion passed over his eyes again, but Yuugi would not fall for it. "She's your girlfriend. Show some fucking respect."

Yami's brow furrowed and his demeanor changed within two seconds. Yuugi found his heart skipping a beat at this subtle alternate form of the stranger he met in the café, but the aura emitting from Yami was one of pure danger and irritation. "You don't know anything about me."

"You're right. I don't." Yuugi swallowed. "But what does that have anything to do with knowing how to treat someone properly? Face it: you flirted with me at a coffee shop, and she has no idea you did it. You're her boyfriend, aren't you?" Yami did not say anything, but he seemed preoccupied with his own thoughts. "You should think about it, at least. I would hate to be the one to tell her that you tried cheating on her."

* * *

Jeremy wasn't really sure what to make the situation before him.

He wasn't surprised at all to see Anzu's date, and for him to look like _that _was purely sinful. The kid would never admit it, but the goldfish's third eye for detail could definitely tell that his owner had a clear attraction towards the other male species. And that was fine and dandy with Jeremy—he was a straight fish himself and he knew for a fact that beauty existed in both genders, but he was surprised that his tongue tied up in knots when that Yami character strode through the door like fucking Prince Charming.

Maybe it was just a coincidence. From the way he observed Anzu, she was more occupied glancing over how clean the house was and paying attention to Yuugi than fawning over her drop-dead-gorgeous boyfriend. There was something slightly… off, and a little odd; about the way she presented herself around the two boys. There was a significant difference, but the other line of wording the goldfish was trying to pinpoint really could not be deciphered in a small amount of time. He would need a few days, maybe even a couple weeks, to observe these three people and take in what they were doing.

He practically pressed his face against his bowl, watching Yuugi's discomfort and unsettlement around Yami. It was fascinating, really—to observe humans that were practically begging to jump each other's bones, but neither would have the guts to do it. He could tell from these two characters (especially from Yuugi, since he'd known the boy for a while now) that they were already starting to lust each other. Yami's eyes were _everywhere_; hell, they lingered on his ass, his thighs, his arms, his shoulders, his face… and Yuugi wasn't noticing any of it—the damn teenager was too busy talking about his suspicions!

_Goddammit! _If he could, the fish would roll his eyes in frustration. Yuugi never liked walking out of his comfort zone.

Since his owner could vent his emotions on his own pet goldfish, he rarely confided to his friends. When he was a lot younger, as Jeremy remembered from the stories, Yuugi would talk to random animals on the street, including rats and stray dogs. It was, obviously, a dangerous hobby and when his parents found out they refused to let him out of the house for months.

Yuugi had decent friends, though. Jeremy wasn't particularly fond of the blonde weirdo that came around sometimes—Jounouchi Katsuya. The white-haired teen was a little strange too, and from what Yuugi told him he now had a pet snake that clearly hated his owner's guts and would probably try to gobble up his toes for breakfast. Hiroto Honda came over at times as well, but was usually glued to the hip with Jounouchi if he happened to show up. Anzu Mazaki was honestly the only friend that Jeremy considered one hundred percent tolerable, and that was not just because she was an admittedly hot human teenage girl.

Anzu seemed to care for Yuugi the most, and that twinkle in her eye… there was always something else hidden behind that stare, the pools of adoration that held so much affection for one boy. Jeremy knew that she was hiding something, but maybe even she didn't realize that about herself yet.

Huh. Women… even then, any female would never be as confusing as his owner. Yuugi happened to have too many skeletons in his closet to count, and the fact that only Jeremy knew about this said something. Anzu probably had no idea, neither did Honda, or Jounouchi, or even Ryou… coincidence? No, of course it wasn't. Yuugi confided to _him_.

_Don't get yourself screwed over, kid. Tread carefully._

* * *

"I'm allergic to fish."

"You can have oysters."

"I'm allergic to _all _fish. Including shellfish."

"…"

Anzu was tempted to bury her face into her hands, her gaze shifting between the two rather tense men in her presence. As she suggested, they walked through the front doors to one of Yuugi's favorite restaurants: _Fish 'N Baked_. His grandfather would take him when he was younger, but his parents refused to let him even glance through the windows at the vibrant, colorful striped fish in the miniature aquariums after a few months.

She really didn't expect Yami to be so difficult; and the truth was, she really didn't think he was even telling the truth. She glanced forward, observing Yuugi's tight-lipped expression and his dilated pupils.

He was livid.

"Um, Yami…" she started, tapping his shoulder. "Maybe you can get some soup? Or shrimp skewers? I know you like those, right?"

Yami considered this, his lips quirking up into a sardonic grin. "Perhaps. Sometimes. Is today Thursday?"

"… Yes."

"Then no. I only enjoy shrimp skewers and soup on Fridays. It's a fact calendared for my digestive system." Yami chuckled at his own strange sense of humor, casting a bemused glare towards the two individuals around him.

"You're such a liar, Yami," Anzu drawled, sighing. "Just think of something on the menu that you can actually eat. You can figure it out."

Yuugi blinked in surprise at Anzu's words, but he smiled in gratitude. Even if Yami was her boyfriend, she wasn't going to let him be difficult for no reason, especially towards her lifelong childhood companion.

"Those two look like twins!"

"No, no, one of them has leather on and looks older."

"I dare say, Stripes and Spots, you are both incorrect! The brunette human is clearly involved with one of them. Or so, it seems."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Yuugi struggled not to glance over towards the aquarium; apparently the three different fish bubbling up against the glass were fixated on him and his friends. Stripes and Spots were most likely the blue-speckled, gold-finned fish twins, and the last one speaking was a strange green eel lining the bottom of the rock bed. Those needle teeth seemed to betray the strange Australian accent. Their voices were only slightly muffled behind the glass; maybe Yuugi's odd "birth defect" garnered more power over the years? Honed skills? Maybe… that would probably make sense, right?

"I must comment on those odd spiky hairstyles those two men are sporting. Quite… odd."

"You're the Australian shithead with the green skin, Clive."

Clive? _Clive _the _eel_?

If Yuugi weren't so hungry and focused on _other things_, he would have laughed hysterically in front of every person in the restaurant. He stirred his straw in his glass of water and glanced out the window. A couple skateboarders dashed by on the sidewalk, colorfully neon and smiling stupidly.

"Fine. I'll get chips."

"You can't just get _chips_."

"My money, right, Anzu?" Yami stared at her playfully. "I can buy my own chips. And then I'll pay for your meal, and of course your darling friend's."

Yuugi bristled and glared icily. "Shut up."

Anzu hesitated. "Well, um, nice weather outside…"

"Oh, you are just so adorable, little Yuugi," Yami taunted, smirking quite evilly for someone so seductive and irrevocably charming. Yuugi simultaneously wanted to listen more to his ridiculous voice and strangle him with his bare hands. "With those cheeks round with baby fat and those huge innocent eyes. You don't even look your age. In fact, you look eight. Or seven. Do you have a boyfriend? A girlfriend? I'm sure they're a pedophile."

"_Yami_!" Anzu scolded, staring at him in disbelief. "I can't _believe _you!" She frowned at Yuugi and shook her head in disappointment. "Excuse us." She snatched Yami's arm and dragged him from the booth, her teeth grinding in condescension. "We definitely need to talk."

Yuugi blinked owlishly as his angry friend dragged her boyfriend off to who-knew-where. Apparently she would solve this situation herself.

He groaned in dismay.

This was going to be a _long _dinner...


	4. Unwelcome in Every Sense

**Title:**_ My Goldfish Thinks You're Sexy_

**Rating: **_T - M_

**Genre: **_General/__Humor/Drama/Angst/Hurt/Comfort/Romance_

**Coupling: **_Puzzleshipping (with some Tendershipping)_

**Setting: **_Alternate Universe_

**Disclaimer: **_Disclaimed_

**Summary: **_He could never explain the phenomenon, really. It just naturally came and went, and he found that it was just as natural for him to… well, talk to animals. Who else was going to listen to him other than his goldfish? Oh, and there's the fact that his friend Anzu's gorgeous new boyfriend discovers his secret makes matters much more interesting. "Um… hello…" "Were you just talking to your fish?"_

* * *

**Thank you so much to everyone who are reading/alerting/favorite-ing/reviewing this story! I really appreciate it. Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

_Unwelcome in Every Sense_

* * *

From what Jeremy could tell, the dinner was a disaster. Yuugi arrived home; somber, drenched in what the fish could see as despair and a cloud of irritation hanging over his head like a moving plague. He strode over to the couch, staring emptily towards the glistening television screen (still wiped clean of dust or grime since his rigorous once-over the whole house). His fingers entwined around the remote, but he never moved once to flick on the piece of ancient technology to watch an interesting channel.

He wasn't motivated.

"Hey, kid…" Jeremy started, swimming comfortably around the tallest pillar of his underwater castle. "What's eatin' ya now? How'd the dinner go?" Of course he already knew the answer, but it never hurt to ask, right? The tension rolling from his owner only made him more concerned. It reminded him of the time he tried to sway the affections of a pretty silver-finned lionfish in a tank beside him (in one of those old American pet stores) and she rebuffed him with a quick flare of her spiny gills.

"I don't understand how my own goldfish can see that I'm distressed." Yuugi cracked a tiny, barely amused smile, but the glimmer was still there. Jeremy chuckled in response to this and tried to catch the other's attention; maybe some comedic relief would cheer him up.

"Well… care to tell ol' Jeremy what's bothering you? Oh wait, it's not because of the leather pants incident, right? You know I was kidding about the bondage slave thing—"

"No, Jeremy, it's not about that. It's Anzu and her new _boyfriend_." The last word dripped off his tongue like a scathing dose of venom. His teeth clenched for a second, and then he sighed. He grabbed Jeremy's bowl and started up the stairs; each movement he made resembled a zombie to the perplexed fish.

"What'd she do?"

"Nothing. Anzu didn't do anything. I just don't know what she sees in him."

"Eh, well, love works in mysterious ways, right?"

"Don't joke right now Jeremy…" Yuugi groaned, stretched across his bed with one arm covering his face. His knees bunched up and he peeked through the slits of his wrist and fabric to take in the posters strewn across his ceiling and room, once more remembering just how hectic his home life could be. All of that work… all of that effort, was spent for nothing. "There's no way she could be in love with him. There's something else going on. They don't even treat each other like they're in a relationship."

If Jeremy had eyebrows, he would have furrowed them. Confusion dwelled in his owner's youthful amethyst eyes, and he knew for a fact that he needed to voice his opinions earlier than later. "I think it's a set-up."

The human grumbled something inaudible at this. "Maybe… but why?" Trying to figure this out reminded him that he needed a real hobby; talking to his pet goldfish about his life issues was going to get old eventually. Plus, he'd like to believe that he wasn't actually going insane.

"She wants to make you jealous?"

"That's impossible." Yuugi's brow furrowed in disbelief. Anzu—Anzu _Mazaki_—was his closest friend and treasured their platonic relationship over the world. There was no way she had a romantic interest in him; even if the pieces to the puzzle somehow worked, it would drive him insane trying to figure it out. "But I can't…" he groaned, rubbing his temples. "I can't think of any other possible explanation right now."

Jeremy considered this. "Maybe there's more to the story than you know. Hey, if only I had legs, right? I could snoop."

"Very funny," Yuugi replied sardonically. "I was just hoping this night would go well and it ended up being a disaster. They both practically stormed out of the restaurant and I just left before they came back. I could tell that I was only making the experience worse for both of them." His brow furrowed into a hardening scowl. "Hmph. Like I care about what her date thought, though. He's such an ass."

"A _hot _ass."

Yuugi stared at the fish.

"What? I don't lie about good-looking things, Yuugi! And that man was a tall mixed bag of _ka-chow_!"

The human blinked and raised a tentative eyebrow. "You're really strange, you know that?"

"Hey, you're the one spilling your guts to a goldfish."

"… Touché."

* * *

"You did _what_?"

"Anzu was completely adamant on having me meet him." Yami strode with his hands casually in his pockets, admiring the polished tiles of his kitchen floor. He glanced towards the refrigerator and considered pulling out sandwich makings, but decided against it because his roommate would just shove the pile of bread and meat down his throat as soon as his back was turned. "Besides, it wasn't a complete disaster. The kid's amusing."

His fingers grasped heftily around the PlayStation controller, Bakura lifted his head towards his roommate and raised a perplexed eyebrow. "You sure you didn't just screw everything over like you usually do? This is the sixth girl you've gone out with in two months!"

"You act like that's a bad thing," Yami replied modestly, shrugging his shoulders. "Honestly, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal." He paused, reaching into one of the cooler drawers and plucking out a Coke bottle. "Besides, I don't even think we're technically dating. She seems more interested in her shrimp-sized buddy."

Bakura blinked rapidly at this, setting down his controller and leaning back against a couch that was probably dozens of years old (who knew, he randomly searched in a massive junkyard and found the damn thing loitering in a forgotten corner). He crossed his arms over his chest and surveyed the room with disinterest before craning his neck to glance at his roommate; cautious light brown eyes swimming in curiosity.

"You don't think that's a little _weird_? The girl looked kinda hot. Why would she settle for a shrimp compared to you?"

"She seems to believe that we're dating… but I'm not sure." Yami chuckled in amusement, rolling his eyes. "And besides, Bakura, the kid is actually quite a looker. I'd never seen someone so feisty and determined, but he's a pain in the ass at the same time."

"So why didn't you go after him instead?"

"I tried." Yami shrugged, and when his thoughts reverted back to that interesting morning in the café, he found himself curling his lips in amusement. The kid was suspicious of him from the start, and of course it was to his startling surprise that he found the kid wrapped in nothing but a towel only hours later. Coincidence, of course… but a rather odd one. "He accused me of trying to cheat on Anzu."

Bakura grumbled. "Were you?"

"I didn't think so." He pondered this. "But if she thinks we're actually dating then I guess it could be seen as that."

"You're an unhealthy playboy."

"My relationships are short-lived but for specific reasons, Bakura. I'm not intending on sleeping with hundreds of men and women." Yami slightly scowled at the accusation the white-haired man made, but at the same time he could see what the other was implying.

Maybe getting fixated on a "relationship" with a girl like Anzu Mazaki was not a good idea. She chewed him out in front of the restaurant right after he taunted Yuugi, and she was absolutely _livid_. The fire burning in those glassy blue orbs was powerful enough to tame a wild dog. That miniscule experience alone told him that she was more caring towards her friend than she realized, and he had a feeling that if she pressured on, she would get her heart broken.

From what Yami could tell, Yuugi Mutou was anything but straight. He caught the kid staring at him (albeit angrily and with spite… but the attraction as surely there of course) numerous times, and he could tell from his overprotective mannerisms towards Anzu that he only cared for her as a friend. If Yami's suspicions were correct… Anzu's expectations would return to her mouth in shambles. If only he could actually read minds rather than just expressions, he would not only solve his own problems but he would end up making millions of dollars.

Rich dreams. What a joke.

"From what you told me the kid seems alright. Except for, you know, the 'pain in the ass' part." Bakura snickered.

Yami pondered this. "Well, he is weird. I caught him dashing down the stairs with a goldfish bowl, and he was actually _talking _to it." He paused, taking a quick sip of his Coke and thinking over what he just said. "You know, it was actually a little stranger than that. He looked like he was _arguing _with it…"

Bakura blinked. "Okay, now he just sounds loony. You sure he's _okay _in everything else? Any cancelling-out factors that'll help you out?" He smirked once the other man chucked an empty bottle at him, and the white-haired individual glared at the fractured glass fragments splayed out across their carpet. "The fuck, man! I just vacuumed in here!"

"Deal with it."

* * *

_The chatter was unstoppable. Everywhere he turned, everywhere he looked, felines, fishes, dogs, birds, and even horses would stop to engage in light conversation and he would somehow absorb the details with open ears. His slender, youthful hand was grasped gently in his father's, the much taller and more admirable gentleman striding in hefty patterns on the sidewalk._

_Within the last ten minutes, the child caught himself smiling and giggling at something a parrot couple said to each other. The two birds were clearly in love, rainbow colors of emerald and ruby melding into each other in a gentle symphony. It was refreshing to see something so lighthearted and gentle in the morning._

"_Papa, do animals love each other for life?" the boy asked tentatively, shining purple eyes taking notice of an aggravated field mouse climbing up a table that belonged to an outdoor restaurant. The animal was desperately foraging what it (or she) could before the birds arrived; the boy wanted to help the mouse but he knew his father would scold him if he tried. _

"_Animals are animals, son," his father replied, a ghost of a smile passing over his weathered features. "Who's to say what they're really thinking?" _

"_I think they do," the boy whispered, dreams clinging to each word. "I can tell when the animals are happy together too." He could also see when they were frightened, or scared, or terrified beyond relief. Their emotions, their words, every piece of their subconscious bled to him in waves. It was painful, albeit fascinating, even for his young, stressed mind._

"_You don't say," the man whispered, seemingly lost in thought. But his reluctance to keep up the conversation did not stop his son._

"_Yeah! And they really do love each other. Most of the time. Like those doves!" He pointed enthusiastically to a pair of white birds nestled together under the glare of a broken light post. "See? They're going to have two eggs together. That's what they're promising." Doves were a lot sweeter and more intelligent than pigeons, and it showed in their conversations. _

"_Don't say those things, Yuugi."_

_The boy paused, staring up at his father. "But why, Papa?"_

"_Love can't exist in animals. It's a fact, and you shouldn't pretend that it does."_

* * *

"Your old man sounded like a prick," Jeremy whistled, sitting comfortably in a bed of colorful pebbles. He stared at his owner, a slight wave of relief and understanding passing over the goldfish.

Normally he wouldn't ask Yuugi about his childhood or anything involving his parents, considering what he already knew, but these matters were important. He knew that Yuugi needed to take his mind off of the situation with Anzu (and her boyfriend) and maybe partaking in a quick game of Twenty Questions was exactly what they needed… or at least, what Jeremy needed, in order to understand the confusing human better.

At times, Yuugi was as readable as a rented textbook. The instructions were there, but the example was impossible to decipher unless you had the intelligence to match it. In Yuugi's case, his textbook was filled with scattered notes, formulas and equations that really didn't make that much sense, especially since only _one _of those problems had to do with him talking to animals.

"My parents never listened to me when I talked about animals," Yuugi muttered, flipping through a magazine with a forlorn expression on his face. "They would freak out, especially when my mother caught me talking to a crow outside my room. I remember arguing with it because it kept tapping on my window at night." He smirked slightly at the memory. "He was a stupid bird, though; never really had anything interesting to say."

"Birds are evil," Jeremy countered bluntly. "Stupid feather-brains."

The teenager brushed a bang out of his eyes. "Yeah, I can only imagine just how much fish hate birds—"

"Fishes."

Yuugi blinked. "… What?"

"Fishes. That's the plural form, not just _fish_. It's weird how common of a misconception that is for humans." Jeremy rolled his eyes. "I seriously don't get it. You guys slather your brains in soap opera drool and you don't even pay attention to grammar."

Yuugi threw the magazine at Jeremy's fishbowl and grinned in sick satisfaction as the object wobbled in response. "Jeremy, you're a _fish_. You _can't _correct my grammar. That's just… it's wrong, on so many levels."

"It's what I'm here for man!"

"That's what you think," Yuugi replied sullenly. He didn't even glance down at his pocket when his cell phone buzzed; he wrapped his fingers around the device and flipped it open, pressing it against his ear. He waited for the other voice to respond over the line, but his patience was already wearing thin. "Hello?"

"_Yuugi Mutou?"_

Yuugi swallowed, and blinked dumbly. "… This is not who I think it is—"

"_Ah, so this is Yuugi." _

Fucking. Yami. How the hell did he… right, Anzu.

Yuugi sighed and leaned back against the pillow, ignoring Jeremy's curious stare. "What the hell do you want now? Did Anzu make you call me and apologize about how you totally ruined her night?"

The man on the other side of the conversation paused and chuckled lightly. _"You still have such low expectations for me. If I were any other person, I'd be gravely insulted. But since you sound like you need some humor in your life, I'll give you just that. No, Anzu did not tell me to call you. I am doing this on my own accord."_

The teenager nibbled on his thumb, his brow furrowing in concentration and annoyance. He didn't believe Yami for a second, but something about the way the other talked about the situation made him consider it. He thought about snapping the phone shut and breaking contact from this irritating jackass for good… but something possessed his lips to move in motions that he didn't expect, and he wanted to punch himself in the gut for it.

"So why are you calling?"

"_Bored."_

Oh, well _that _was flattering.

"You're an asshole."

"_And you're hostile." _Yami paused for effect. _"But really, I have nothing else to do right now. Laundry's done, rooms are clean, carpet's vacuumed… I really had nothing better to do than to call someone interesting up on the phone."_

"You could take a walk."

"Oh like your hobbies are any better…" Jeremy muttered, and Yuugi shot him an icy glare to shut him up.

"_Too lazy. And my neighborhood isn't exactly… well, neighborly."_

Yuugi sighed, rubbing his temples and contemplating his options. "Well, as you remember we didn't exactly meet on good terms. So why would you want to call _me _of all people? There's Anzu, your other friends that I'm sure are just as messed up as you—," he paused when he heard the other laugh. If they hadn't met, and he didn't uncover such a raucous personality, he would have blushed at the soothing, charismatic sound. "What's so funny?"

"_You."_

Jeremy snickered.

"… Ah," Yuugi grumbled. "Well, since you're on the phone with me now…" he couldn't believe he was saying this; he still braced himself for the inevitable. "What do you want to talk about?"

"_Honestly, I hadn't thought about it. I was hoping you would know."_

"Well I wasn't expecting a phone call."

The line paused. _"Fair enough." _ Yuugi heard the other man chuckle and almost resorted to smacking his forehead in defeat. _"Favorite food?"_

The teenager sighed, slightly perplexed. "Wait… what?"

"_Yuugi Mutou, what is your favorite food?"_

"Why do you want to know?"

"_Just trying to make conversation. I'm sure you have one." _Another pause. _"Or, if this will make it easier for you, tell me your favorite fruit."_

Yuugi squinted in suspicion, but he wasn't going to argue with him at this point. The hole was already too deep. "Papaya."

"_Mango… really, papaya? You're a patient person?" _Yuugi actually smirked at the teasing tone.

"I can be."

"_Huh. Well, Yuugi… ask me a question."_

Ah, so this was what he was doing.

Jeremy blinked in confusion. "Whoa, you're actually going to talk to this guy? I thought you hated his guts!" The fish doubted that Yuugi would even have the gall to walk in Yami's path after that disastrous experience, but something told Jeremy that this was exactly what needed to happen. Relaxation would be at Yuugi's door if he paid attention.

Yuugi ignored him and pondered. "Color."

"_That didn't even sound like a question. More of a demand." _

"Maybe it was."

"_I see." _Yami chuckled; Yuugi found that he was starting to like the rhythm. _"I prefer black. And white. Also a little mix of silver and orange every now and then can make things a little interesting. I have a new favorite color every week, basically." _

Yuugi's fingers drummed against his knee. "Okay. Now you."

"_Can you sing?"_

"I can, but it's equivalent to cheese grating against metal."

"_Interesting. Well, that goes for just one of us. I happen to be a decent singer." _Yuugi rolled his eyes; with a smooth voice like that, possibly, but Yami's attitude as a singer was hard to picture.

"Do you have a fetish for leather?"

A rather pregnant pause developed between them, and Yuugi was about to hang up his phone in victory, but stopped when that same stupidly attractive laugh broke his concentration.

"_No… no, I don't. Do _you_?"_

Yuugi spluttered. "No! You're the one that wore leather when I first met you in the café!"

"_So you remember that? Still angry at me?"_

"For trying to cheat on my best friend? Hell yeah, I'm still angry at you. In fact I don't know if I'm ever going to think of you as a possible friend, or even an _acquaintance_—"

"_Yuugi, Anzu and I… I wouldn't say we're a couple_—_"_

"Guess what? She thinks you are. She mentions you all the time when we hang out. She seems to like you a whole fucking lot, so you better buck up and appreciate her for who she is." Yuugi bit his tongue, forcing back a further rant in order to spare Jeremy of any confusion or even to drive Yami up the wall. He hadn't meant for those details to slip; he didn't have any feelings for Anzu… not romantically, anyway, but it certainly sounded like it.

"… _Yuugi—"_

The teen snapped his phone shut and shoved it under his pillow. He ignored the continuous buzzes and rings that followed, until finally the pestering man stopped trying. He didn't need to listen to Yami's apparent bullshit anymore—Anzu just… she deserved better. There was no other way of saying it.

Jeremy shifted uncomfortably, pretending to be distracted by the crown of algae forming on his castle. "Um… maybe you should've heard him out, Yuug'. I mean, maybe he had something important to say?"

"Nothing he could've said would make up for the fact that he's a total bastard. I already told you about what he did to Anzu." Yuugi frowned, his brow furrowing in deep thought. "I don't even want to see him."

So why did it feel like a lie?

* * *

Yami stared at the touchscreen device in his hands, blinking in confusion over what just happened. The confusion of the past twenty minutes still lingered in the back of his mind, and for the last fifteen he'd been trying to call the stubborn teenager back and explain himself. But no, Yuugi Mutou was not going to listen to him at all unless he did something crazy to grab his attention.

Caramelized shrimp sizzled on a skillet at the corner of his eye, but as soon as the teen dropped contact with him he felt his hunger deplete. He hated being rejected in any way… even in platonic terms.

Were Yuugi's words accurate? That sharp tongue lashed out many insults and accusations… just what was he to the boy? An enemy? Less of a friend or even an acquaintance? Apparently he didn't want anything to do with him, which made sense since he was a total jackass to the teen in his own favorite restaurant. He thought that it was a minor issue, but maybe he really was wrong… was he in way over his head?

He groaned, rubbing his temples and staring blankly at his phone. With a disgruntled sigh, he flipped open his phone and dialed another number.


	5. A Conversation

**Title:**_ My Goldfish Thinks You're Sexy_

**Rating: **_T - M_

**Genre: **_General/__Humor/Drama/Angst/Hurt/Comfort/Romance_

**Coupling: **_Puzzleshipping (with some Tendershipping)_

**Setting: **_Alternate Universe_

**Disclaimer: **_Disclaimed_

**Summary: **_He could never explain the phenomenon, really. It just naturally came and went, and he found that it was just as natural for him to… well, talk to animals. Who else was going to listen to him other than his goldfish? Oh, and there's the fact that his friend Anzu's gorgeous new boyfriend discovers his secret makes matters much more interesting. "Um… hello…" "Were you just talking to your fish?"_

* * *

**Thank you so much to everyone who are reading/alerting/favorite-ing/reviewing this story! I really appreciate it. Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

_A Conversation_

* * *

"You can't be serious."

The words that left her mouth couldn't have been clearer. Slender fingers clenched unceremoniously around the paper cup, dots of chocolate liquid coating the lid in protest.

Freshly polished fingernails that glinted pink in the sunlight suddenly didn't appear so bright or appealing anymore. The shade actually matched the gentle gloss that spread across her lips, and the faint dabble of sparkle adorning her eyelids—she was already a pretty woman, but putting on a light layer of makeup made her even more attractive those that were interested in that sort of thing.

Yami propped his elbows up on the table, his lips pursing in concentration. Every now and then he would glance back inside to the coffee shop that smelled of bellflowers and freshly ground cinnamon.

It was a peaceful place, but he decided to take this meeting outside to enjoy the gentle weather and the glow of the afternoon sun. The sky was a tender baby blue, streaked through with shapely white clouds that would drive any child wild with imagination. Yami was sure he could pick out a couple turtles and ducks in that streamlined cluster.

He didn't dress very fancily for this occasion like she did. His dark jeans clung to his legs like a second skin, and the leather jacket hugged around his arms and remained undone to reveal his uncharacteristically loose white shirt. Loose steel bracelets were worn around his wrists, and he tried to look away from the girl across from him if she tried to ask him about his choice of dress for today. Usually when he wore leather over white he wasn't in a particularly great mood, but today he had a specific emotion at the ready.

"I am," he finally replied, breaking the awkward silence that drifted between them like a snaking river. "Listen, I just think that… _this_, or whatever it was, wasn't working out. Or, at least, it wasn't what you thought it was." He waited for a much more extreme reaction, like she would throw her scalding hot chocolate in his face and flip over the table. A girl did that to him before… so how was she going to be any different?

But no, she simply stared at him, the soft strands of her brown hair blowing gently in the wind. She shrugged and took a casual sip of her drink, glancing over his perplexed expression in curiosity. "And… what exactly was this to you, Yami?" she questioned. "Obviously, we don't seem to be on the right page, here." She folded her hands in her lip and tilted her head to the side. "When you called for me to come here I thought it was going to be a very different thing, and to be honest I'm glad that it's _this_. You saved me a lot of trouble of having to break it to you myself."

His jaw slacked. He stared at her, unable to comprehend what this young woman was saying to him. So… his assumptions _were _correct. She had never wanted that from him in the first place. He was roped into her harmless game and he fell for the usual tropes of false romance and blundered in every step. Maybe he should've seen this one coming. Talking to Yuugi Mutou over the phone in a rather violent manner made him consider this "date" in the first place, and now he realized that the tables had turned.

"So… we're breaking up with each other," he added, raising a tentative eyebrow. "Um… well, to be honest I thought that _you _were on the wrong page. I never thought we had a relationship." He felt like coming clean would have been the best option. After all, if she had no interest in him like he'd originally expected, then why would she bother to go through the motions like she had over the past month or so?

She folded her hands over her lip, crossing one leg. "I thought you were a lot smarter than this, and honestly, we _talked _about it too." She sighed and wrinkled her nose, seemingly disinterested. "Listen, you're a great guy and all, Yami, but you know as well as I do that if someone saw the two of us talking in an ice cream parlor, or wherever else we met for the first time, that we wouldn't be considered a couple. Hell, we never even kissed. Wasn't that a green flag for you?" She giggled—_giggled_—in mild amusement and winked charmingly. "You're funny, I'll give you that."

Yami scratched his temple, blinking awkwardly and trying to piece this information together in his head. "So, wait…" he inhaled, counting each step carefully in his head. "I was part of a plan of sorts? What exactly were you planning to do with pretending, I guess, to be my girlfriend?" That seemed like a reasonable question, right?

Anzu Mazaki shrugged and smiled lackadaisically. "I thought you would've figured it out by now." She grinned faintly and, for a brief second, Yami noted the glimmer of sadness that dwelled behind her beautiful eyes. One had to be blind to not notice the tranquil gentleness of those kind blue orbs.

"I'm very confused," Yami admitted, smirking in disbelief. "I honestly didn't expect this to occur… like _this_. I don't know how else to describe how I'm feeling right now." It was supposed to be so easy, and somehow this intelligent girl turned their intentions around and was putting the spotlight on him… not to mention a complimentary dunce cap.

"Well… what have you noticed?" Anzu inquired, taking out her cell phone and scrolling through text messages while she waited for his response. Twenty or so minutes passed before she finally looked up and raised an eyebrow at him. "Is it really that hard to figure out?" She shook her head and smiled. "You poor thing. I was pretty sure I gave enough hints."

"… Is this because you like Yuugi?"

And then, that same awkward silence descended like—not a blanket—but a heavy, thousand-pound anvil. If such a thing was real Yami's bones and flesh would be spread out unceremoniously on the asphalt road.

But, the girl's disposition changed. Her shoulders had softened, her eyes glistened in a different sparkle, and a rosy tint to her cheeks suddenly lit up. She was rather pretty, and in her vulnerable state he could see just what made her like this, what made her so sharp and fiery and intelligent and feisty. She had a person in her life that she cherished more than life itself, and that person was someone she knew didn't return her feelings.

His gaze softened for her. He knew what it was like, to experience a broken heart, and with the newfound numbness he detected on Anzu's angelic face, he noticed something out of place. She stared off into the distance, to the casual passersby, some involving couples with linked hands, their happy expressions radiating love that rarely existed in their cruel, cruel world. He praised her maturity and suddenly grew another spike of respect for the girl, but that was replaced by another feeling.

She looked glazed, unfocused.

Sad.

"I did," she whispered softly, barely loud enough for him to hear. She sighed shakily and turned back to him, once again grasping her cup and taking a brief sip. He imagined that her hot chocolate was probably ice-cold by now. "For a few years, I believed that it was just platonic. Being friends with someone like Yuugi is like trying to crack open an unreadable book. I know him so well, and at the same time I know nothing about him."

Yami's brow furrowed in interest. "Ah." He paused. "Is… that all?"

She smirked at him. "I'm not forcing you to stay here, but thanks for the cocoa. It's nice to just sit down and… talk, even if it's with someone that you have an unsure relationship with." She tilted her head to the side. "I also wanted to apologize, for… well, kind of using you back there. I've been keeping up with this charade, to read Yuugi's reaction, and I haven't gotten anything because of a very simple reason." She shrugged. "But thanks for going along with it."

He honestly didn't know how he didn't figure it out in the first place, but he chose to nod anyway and accept her comments with his head held high. "You're welcome."

"Yuugi's still impossible to read, and I found that out the hard way," she continued, her eyes distracted again. "I thought he would react differently. The hopeful part of me wanted him to see how I really care for him. Of course, maybe I should've been smarter about it. I wasn't trying to make him jealous. More like…" she paused. "To make him see, you know? I didn't want to use you like that, Yami, and again I'm really sorry for that, but I just needed to know and I had no other method that would have worked. Yuugi's too perceptive with the other ideas I had and even now he thinks you and I are in a relationship, and now it feels like he's hiding something from me."

Yami had daydreamed for a good portion of her monologue, but he keyed in on the final details. His tongue clicked and he rested his chin on his hands. "Every person has a skeleton in his or her closet. I think you know that as well."

Anzu's eyes narrowed. "I know. But Yuugi trusts me. He trusts Jounouchi, Honda, Ryou… he trusts all of us, and still, even today, at this very moment, I know that something is wrong with him. There's a skeleton in his closet that he refuses to believe exists, and I know this sounds crazy," she swallowed. "But listen, okay?" She waited until Yami nodded. "Okay. Again, this is going to sound really crazy." She hesitated, leaning in to whisper to the other teenager.

Yami blinked and followed the gesture, raising an eyebrow as he did so.

"I _think_… I think that Yuugi can somehow talk to animals. Or, at least, understand them." Anzu leaned back, searching his face for a reaction, and looked quite puzzled at the fact that she didn't receive one in return.

He blinked and resisted the urge to burst into laughter. However, he stopped that reaction midway when he noticed that this girl, this strange, overprotective mother hen named Anzu Mazaki, was _not _joking. "You…" he drifted, pondering over the possibility of this matter. "You honestly believe that? Anzu, that's _impossible_. It's not scientifically possible. Are you sure he's not just acting crazy?"

The brunette bristled and glared icily towards him. "I _know _Yuugi well enough to know that he's _not crazy_. That's why I think this is so bizarre. It's not some psychological disease; it's not some mental distraction. He really has some secret ability that he doesn't want to tell anyone, and I think that's the key. He can talk to and understand animals; I've seen it."

He really couldn't believe he was dashing away from the table and hitching a taxi, but the desperation she showed made him more or less sympathetic. "And where have you seen this?" He turned his attention to the gaggle of moving couples through the glass walls, inspecting their intimacy, the gentleness in their interactions.

Anzu hesitated. "With his pet goldfish, some dogs walking on the sidewalk, and even his good friend Ryou Sakurada's pet snake." She smiled a little at the last one. "It's interesting, Yami, because I first mentioned you to my friends at an ice cream parlor not far from here. I told Yuugi about you, and Ryou happened to bring his new pet snake along to show us. They were making eye contact the entire time and I could practically _feel _the anger coming from Yuugi."

This chick actually believed every word she said. She didn't think what she mentioned was crazy; oddly enough, Yami knew that she wasn't a stupid woman. She was smart and he knew from firsthand experience, but hearing these words roll so easily off her tongue tempted him to call a doctor.

He shifted in his seat. "… You do realize you sound like a lunatic."

"Serves me right for trying to help my friend." She dipped her head. "I want what's best for Yuugi, and now you've figured out my secret, my reason for involving you in his life in the first place. But to answer your earlier question, I _did _have feelings for Yuugi."

He frowned. "You already said—"

"I _did_." She stared at him quizzically. "And _did _implies that it was a feeling in my heart that _once existed_. As in, it's gone now. I only see Yuugi as my little brother at this point; those feelings disappeared a long time ago."

The specification hit him like a second gust of wind; okay, so she happened to turn the tables around on their conversation _again_. Just how could this woman do that so fast? She had him hooked and spell-wrought before he could even blink; maybe there was much more to her twisted little methods than he originally expected.

Strange thing was, he wasn't angry. In fact, he _understood _why she went to such lengths to protect Yuugi. However, since she apparently no longer felt romantically linked to her short-tempered friend, there had to be another step he was missing.

"So, I'm pretty sure you're confused." Anzu grinned comically, winking. "Sorry about that. I just like to keep people guessing sometimes. You're a very fun person to talk to."

Yami blinked. Slowly. "I…" he shook his head. "Now I need to know what it really is. If that's not it, then what is it?"

She smiled once more and took the final, gradual sip of her hot chocolate. "Alright, I'll tell you, but I warn you, you can't freak out."

Oh, great. Another one of _those_. He just needed to mentally prepare himself more for this one.

* * *

Elevator music rippled through the pet store in unwelcome currents. Running his fingers through his hair and gazing over the numerous brands of pet food that he could by, Yuugi Mutou found himself in an irritating predicament.

When Jeremy complained that the food he purchased his last visit wasn't _acceptable _to his "Americanized standards", he drove to the pet store to buy a better selection. Of course, much to his _unflattering surprise_, the closest store ran out of Jeremy's favorite. _Kelp Krisp _was out completely and there were only mini-packs of _A Fish's Dream_.

He wanted to bang his head against the wall. After all, visiting a pet store and picking out different brands of fish food was just a miniscule part of his problems. He thought that doing _this, _this tiny task for Jeremy, would take his mind off of the other things.

The phone call from the previous night still rung in his mind, ridiculous questions and banters traded back and forth as if the callers were playing hockey. It was kind of stupid, when he thought about it. He shouldn't have instigated the questions in the first place.

What was he thinking? Engaging in a phone call with who he considered to be his new enemy? That bastard used his best friend for his own selfish gain, and had no _right _to call him so fucking casually over the phone… even thinking about it disgusted him greatly and he wouldn't have been surprised if he dreamt about the encounter over and over again.

Apparently hatred was very strong in his heart and he wasn't exactly ashamed of it. Actually, not at all. Yami deserved to be hated, didn't he?

"Aw, are you looking for _Kelp Krisp_?" The apologetic, feminine voice snapped him out of his stupor. He blinked; glancing to his left at probably one of the most adorable human beings he'd ever set eyes on.

She was a few inches shorter than him, probably around sixteen or seventeen years of age. Her skin was the color of coffee and had a clear, creamy complexion, maintaining an air of childish innocence. Her eyes were wide, almond-shaped, and boasted a deep forest-green. Her hair was sporadically spiked and sticking in numerous directions, but the length reached only slightly past her shoulders, and the glow on her still-maturing, soft face made Yuugi instinctively want to reach out and pinch her nose. She was dressed in loose white jeans, a black tank top and a yarn beanie that somehow fit perfectly on her crazy hair and delicate head.

"Yeah, I was," Yuugi admitted softly, smiling in appreciation of the cute girl. She looked like she didn't have a care in the world and liked to talk to everyone if she could. He decided that he was probably going to like her if she started talking again anytime soon. "Last-minute errand."

"Well, you can have mine," the girl offered, holding out a familiar blue bag with golden letters. She smiled insistently when he stared at her, unsure. "Go ahead. You can have it. My boyfriend will probably throw a hissy fit that I'm not buying his so-called _perfect fish food_, but he can deal with it." She shrugged her shoulders and turned to the rest of the shelves, nibbling on her bottom lip in pondering. "Really, I don't see what the whole deal is with beta fish."

Yuugi blinked owlishly. Beta fish… oh god, if this girl could listen to betas like he could, she would be disgusted with how violent and grotesque those particular breeds were. Jeremy hated beta fish because of how competitive and foul-mouthed they were; and honestly, Yuugi believed every word of that explanation.

"I'm Mana, by the way," the girl chirped, smiling kindly. Yuugi grinned in return—okay, so it was nice to meet someone with an infectious collection of facial features. He took her hand and shook it gratefully, turning his attention to her simple black purse and the shopping cart behind her. She looked like she was setting up an aquarium.

"Yuugi," he replied. "Um, that's a lot of stuff for a beta fish."

"Oh, my boyfriend has a lot of fish. Not just a beta." She dipped her head. "Let's see… he's also got a couple eels, a lionfish, a couple goldfish, a really weird fish that reminds me of a mime… some clownfish, at three of those blue fish with the yellow tails, and a bunch of others. Oh! And a starfish!" She smiled brightly. "He really likes fish, actually, even if he would never admit it."

Yuugi crossed his arms. "That's what it sounds like."

"So what type of fish do you have? Apparently a picky one if it wants _Kelp Krisp_." Her tone was joking, but something about the way she said it was vaguely familiar. He erased that thought immediately and decided to play along.

"He's a picky one, that's for sure. Unless I distract him with TV he's always complaining about food."

Mana chuckled. "Well, that definitely sounds normal."

"Mana, did you find the right food—? Who is that?"

Yuugi blinked and turned to look at the newcomer, and his breath escaped him. Standing there was a rather tall (and terrifying) young man, probably around his age, with pale, smooth skin and cleanly cut brown hair. His lips were set in a grim line, his hands shoved into his pockets. The long-sleeved white shirt that draped over his body and hugged in noticeably muscular areas. He was slender in form, but his posture was extremely intimidating and his narrow features encompassed a pair of frigid ice-blue eyes.

And… for some insane, crazy reason, he recognized him. Like he'd seen him on the cover of a magazine or poster or somewhere that showed propaganda in some way, shape, or form. But that was impossible, right? And if this guy was a celebrity, what was he doing in the middle of a cheap pet store that was walking distance from the Kame Game Shop?

"Hey Seto!" Mana chirped, walking over to the stranger before handing him her shopping basket full of what seemed to be useless junk. However, he took the basket without protest and for a brief second his eyes softened, but his expression remained unchanged. He looked up and that brow narrowed in suspicion of Yuugi.

Yuugi swallowed. "Um…"

"This is Yuugi," Mana assisted, smiling over her shoulder. "He's pretty interesting, Seto. I gave him the last _Kelp Krisp _because he seemed like he needed it more than we did."

The man—Seto, apparently—looked down at her like she was crazy. "Mana…"

"Eh, Dragon will be fine." Mana winked. "Besides, don't you think it's nice to show your generous side every once in a while?"

Yuugi couldn't believe what he was seeing. From what he could tell, this terrifying, and yet very handsome man with a heart of stone was together with… Mana? The chirpy girl that he knew for less than five minutes but could light up a room easily? Huh, he assumed that opposites attracted on _some _level, but this was a little stranger than he'd expected. To confirm his suspicions Seto pulled the petite girl to his side and wrapped an arm around her. She seemed totally fine with this motion, and she continued talking to him while he stared murderously towards Yuugi.

Sheesh. Possessive, much?

"It was very nice to meet you, Mana," Yuugi began, cautiously stepping back in the other direction of the aisle. He could tell that if he stayed any longer, the hopeful girl's overprotective boyfriend would lash out at him and ask ridiculous questions. He just had this urge—if Jeremy were there he would have told him to run, run, _run _and never look back.

"You too Yuugi! Wait, you're leaving already—"

She blinked and pouted once Yuugi bolted out of their sights. She huffed and stared at her boyfriend with a risen eyebrow. "Seto, why is it that every time I try to make a new friend you scare them off? He was just being nice."

He shrugged, seemingly indifferent. "He was the one who fled." Despite this, the tiniest smirk cracked on his lips, and if the smaller girl noticed it she would have surely cuffed him in the back of the head, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. "Besides, we need to leave. And you have to stop giving my stuff away to strangers."

"Okay that was _one time_." Mana pouted and crossed her arms, visibly sighing. She then turned to her boyfriend, grinning slightly. "Come on, Seto. I'll make it up to you, okay?"

He grinned. Of course, his surprisingly innocent girlfriend didn't know what he was thinking at the moment. She would find out soon, though. Still, to see her talking so casually with another man—who, at first, he confused for someone else—made his instincts rage and boil over. That boy, whoever he was, was smart enough to tread carefully around _his _Mana. And, luckily for the teenager, Mana seemed quite happy and unharmed.

And, usually that was all that mattered.

… Most of the time.

* * *

"_He looked familiar to you?"_

"Yeah, he actually did." Yuugi glanced around him cautiously, stepping out of his grandfather's old jeep with an annoyed expression on his face. He pulled the plastic bag up alongside him, where the last bag of _Kelp Krisp _was proudly displayed for a soon-to-be-quite-happy goldfish. Balancing his cell phone on his shoulder as he locked the car, Yuugi spoke louder. "Does that name sound familiar to you? Seto?"

On the other line, Ryou Sakurada shrugged and sounded ultimately disinterested. "I dunno. I think it does a little bit, but it's too bad that you didn't get his surname. Otherwise I could Google it for you."

Yuugi groaned in annoyance, rubbing his temples. "He looked _really _familiar, Ryou." He paused, frowning as he heard the slight hissing of his friend's pet snake. The translation was more like: _get me the fuck out of this albino's goddamn house!_ Or at least, something really similar to that. "Ryou, what are you doing?"

"_Oh, just feeding Leighton."_

"… And, what are you feeding him?"

"_Live mice. It's actually a much harder process than I originally expected. Leighton doesn't seem to like the brown ones at all. He only likes the white ones."_

Yuugi resisted a chuckle at that last part—apparently his pet snake only liked to eat the mice that resembled his owner.

"Well, have fun with that." He paused and looked up towards the game shop, his brow wrinkling in slight confusion as he noticed a rather tall and strange-looking form standing in front of the doors. "Hey, I'll call you back, okay Ryou?"

"_Alright."_

Yuugi hung up and quickly walked over to the strange form in front of his door, raising an eyebrow. "Excuse me, sir?" The tall figure shifted, and suddenly a boiling, angry pair of eyes turned to him, startling in color and betraying no other sense of emotion that would have comforted Yuugi in the slightest. He immediately had the urge to turn and _run away_.

"What do _you _want?"

Yuugi bristled and felt his knuckles curl into his palms. His patience started to eb away almost instantly. "Look, I just wanted to know what you were doing in front of my hou—store." He frowned. "If you're not interested in going inside and buying something, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

The stranger snarled. "You can't tell me where I can and can't go, punk!" Leathery eyes widened in subtle interest, raking Yuugi's form from head to toe as an interested smile curled on his lips. "Heh. Is this some sort of joke? How much do you cost, kiddo?"

Yuugi blanched. Did he just—no fucking way.

He blushed and growled. "Get _away _from my store! And I'm not—Christ, I'm not a _prostitute_—"

He squeaked and grimaced underneath the weight of the other man's grip. He was soon pressed against the wall, the shadows of the brick stones casting fear and abandonment over his features. His attacker seemed slightly perplexed, and it was then that Yuugi could detect the lingering alcohol on his breath.

"Either ya give me yer money or I'll find another use for you."

Yuugi bristled.

He needed to get out of this mess. Now.


End file.
